Salinity

In 1865, the Danish geologist and mineralogist Johan Georg Forchhammer, with the help of naval and civilian collaborators, collected numerous samples of seawater from the Northern Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. He wanted to determine why the salinity of seawater varies in different areas of the ocean.

Forchhammer's discovery helped scientists understand that salinity levels in seawater vary due to the addition or removal of fresh water, rather than differing amounts of salt minerals in the water.

The global ocean conveyor belt is a constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity.

Her grant of nearly $900,000 allows her to hire graduate students for research into how plankton can adapt to changes in salinity and temperature. Her two targets are witnessing diametrically opposite climate-affected impacts; while the Mediterranean is increasing in salinity, ice melt is injecting a mass of freshwater into the Baltic Sea that promises to decimate key local species like cod.

Predators like baboon and hyena are deterred by the lake's high salinity.