Mondo Knows Facts
The Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest of Earth major ocean basins
High atmospheric evaporation and limited freshwater runoff give the Atlantic elevated salt levels.
Spanning between the Americas to the west and Europe and Africa to the east, the Atlantic covers roughly twenty per cent of Earth's surface. High evaporation rates in tropical latitudes carry atmospheric moisture across Central America into the Pacific, leaving behind concentrated salts. Warm currents like the Gulf Stream transport thermal energy northwards.
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Tags: atlantic ocean, oceans, salinity, gulf stream
The Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest of Earth major ocean basins: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- High atmospheric evaporation and limited freshwater runoff give the Atlantic elevated salt levels. The figure is taken from National Geographic, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a world geography fact?
- Yes. It sits on the World Geography shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.