The deeper you go, the more water above you is pressing down on you. Does this increase water density the deeper you go?

  • Yotta
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    152 years ago

    Yes, but only slightly because water is highly incompressible. To take the example form wikipedia: Even at a depth of 4 km, the volume of water only decreases by 1.8%.

  • @fubo
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    2 years ago

    Water is not very compressible; even at the bottom of the ocean a kilogram of plain water still takes up 0.982 liters of volume (compared to 1 liter at the surface).

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Properties_of_water#Compressibility

    However, actual ocean water is saline (salty), and the salinity of the ocean varies widely. Dissolved salt makes ocean water more dense than pure water; and the more salt there is, the denser it is. That’s why it’s easier to float in the ocean than in a freshwater lake.

    Typically, the water at the bottom of the ocean is slightly less salty than the water at the surface. This is because evaporation happens at the surface.

  • Chainweasel
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    62 years ago

    Yes. Some things I haven’t seen mentioned yet:

    Although water can’t be compressed there’s a few other factors.

    1. Density changes with temperature, and it’s a lot colder at the bottom then the top.

    2. There are air bubbles in the water, all of it. Although atmospheric air mixing by waves is unlikely to make it all the way to the bottom, biology produces gases via several different methods and gas can be compressed, which reduces the space between water molecules and increases the density.

  • @[email protected]
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    42 years ago

    Yes. Pressure and temperature are the main factors influencing the speed of sound through water, which is very important when calibrating sonars as you need to know how quickly the sound will travel to know how far away a response is.

    [https://www.arc.id.au/UWAcoustics.html](More details)

      • Chainweasel
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        12 years ago

        Edit: this was supposed to be a top level comment, not a reply. My bad

  • 0485
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    12 years ago

    The density of water increases by approximately 4.5% for every 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) of depth. At the surface, water has an average density of about 1 gram per cubic centimeter (g/cm³) or 1,000 kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m³). As you descend into the ocean, the density gradually increases. For example, at a depth of 1,000 meters, the density of water would be around 1.045 g/cm³ or 1,045 kg/m³. Keep in mind that these values are approximate and can vary depending on factors such as temperature and salinity.