Consider the following statements regarding oceanic salinity distribution: 1. Salinity is generally highest in tropical regions where evaporation greatly exceeds precipitation and river runoff. 2. Enclosed seas in high latitudes exhibit higher salinity values than open oceans due to intense freezing of seawater. 3. Surface salinity in the equatorial zone is slightly lower than in the subtropics despite high evaporation due to heavy daily convective rainfall. Which of the statements given above are correct?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Statement 1 is correct because subtropical and tropical zones experience high solar insolation, causing intense evaporation that concentrates dissolved salts. Statement 2 is incorrect because high-latitude seas generally show lower surface salinity due to melting glacial ice and high precipitation, except during active sea-ice formation which expels brine locally. Statement 3 is correct because abundant equatorial precipitation dilutes surface waters, keeping salinity lower than the subtropical evaporation maxima. Salinity is measured in parts per thousand.