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Love any science article that provides a clear, scientifically accurate answer to any question my 6 year old asks me. That's a lot of salt, though: "if the sal

Love any science article that provides a clear, scientifically accurate answer to any question my 6 year old asks me. That's a lot of salt, though: "if the salt in the ocean could be removed and spread evenly over the Earth’s land surface it would form a layer more than 500 feet thick."

al2o3cr 9y ago
That sounds huge until you ponder that the water that salt is dissolved in is a layer many hundreds of feet thick covering 70% of the surface. :)
- samstave 9y ago
  What if you took all the water out of the oceans and layered it over the land? how thick would that water be?
  - belorn 9y ago
    Just a guess, but around 14000 feet. If 3.5% of the water is salt and that would create 500 feet of salt if staked on land, then the remaining 96.5% would make 13785.7 feet of water assuming salt and water has the same density.
    - caseymarquis 9y ago
      Right order of magnitude. There's 1.33×10^9 km^3 water in the ocean. .510×10^9 km^2 surface area on the earth. .292 of the surface is land. If I did the math right that's about 29,000 feet.
      - yborg 9y ago
        So Waterworld got something right.
      - bbgm 9y ago
        As high as Mt. Everest. Crazy!!
        ilyagr 9y ago
        It's actually 2.7km, approximately 8600 feet.
      - ilyagr 9y ago
        If your numbers are right, the quotient is about 2.7km which is 8555 feet.
        caseymarquis 9y ago
        1.33/.51/.292 is about 8.9km. You're spreading the ocean over the surface of the entire earth instead of just the continents. Average ocean depth is 12,000 feet, and there's less land than ocean, so the answer must be greater than 12,000 feet.
    - dfee 9y ago
      Hang on, I’m not a chemist, but I imagine we’re missing a couple things. One of which being electrostriction — the process through which the volume of water actually condenses with salt. So it could be greater than you’ve estimated.
  - ByThyGrace 9y ago
    Not trying to be pedantic. The presence of water bodies itself is what defines the current borders of "the land". If you take the water out, aren't you just creating more land surface? Which you then have to cover with the water you're taking out. Until it all evens out.
combatentropy 9y ago
I came here too just to remark how well-written it is. Simple writing isn't easy. It doesn't just flow out. Garbage flows out. Well-chosen words in just the right order lie in the tenth rewrite, by the person who has studied writing for ten years.
everdev 9y ago
"We don't have a water problem, we have a salt problem." - Joe Rogan

al2o3cr 9y ago

That sounds huge until you ponder that the water that salt is dissolved in is a layer many hundreds of feet thick covering 70% of the surface. :)

samstave 9y ago
What if you took all the water out of the oceans and layered it over the land? how thick would that water be?
- belorn 9y ago
  Just a guess, but around 14000 feet. If 3.5% of the water is salt and that would create 500 feet of salt if staked on land, then the remaining 96.5% would make 13785.7 feet of water assuming salt and water has the same density.
  - caseymarquis 9y ago
    Right order of magnitude. There's 1.33×10^9 km^3 water in the ocean. .510×10^9 km^2 surface area on the earth. .292 of the surface is land. If I did the math right that's about 29,000 feet.
    - yborg 9y ago
      So Waterworld got something right.
    - bbgm 9y ago
      As high as Mt. Everest. Crazy!!
      - ilyagr 9y ago
        It's actually 2.7km, approximately 8600 feet.
    - ilyagr 9y ago
      If your numbers are right, the quotient is about 2.7km which is 8555 feet.
      - caseymarquis 9y ago
        1.33/.51/.292 is about 8.9km. You're spreading the ocean over the surface of the entire earth instead of just the continents. Average ocean depth is 12,000 feet, and there's less land than ocean, so the answer must be greater than 12,000 feet.
  - dfee 9y ago
    Hang on, I’m not a chemist, but I imagine we’re missing a couple things. One of which being electrostriction — the process through which the volume of water actually condenses with salt. So it could be greater than you’ve estimated.
- ByThyGrace 9y ago
  Not trying to be pedantic. The presence of water bodies itself is what defines the current borders of "the land". If you take the water out, aren't you just creating more land surface? Which you then have to cover with the water you're taking out. Until it all evens out.

combatentropy 9y ago

I came here too just to remark how well-written it is. Simple writing isn't easy. It doesn't just flow out. Garbage flows out. Well-chosen words in just the right order lie in the tenth rewrite, by the person who has studied writing for ten years.

everdev 9y ago

"We don't have a water problem, we have a salt problem." - Joe Rogan