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Warming water makes it lighter. Dissolving salt
in it makes it heavier. So then, which of hot saltwater and cold
freshwater
is heavier?
The density of sea water is determined by its
temperature and salinity. Warm sea water is
not necessarily lighter than cold sea water.
Around the equator the water temperature is around
30 degrees Celsius, and near the North and South
Poles, it is at the ice-forming temperature of minus
two degrees. However, the concentration of salt at
the equator is higher than that of the poles, so the
density of water does not vary much, and the water at
the poles is actually lighter in some cases.
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