Editing Salinity (section)

==Environmental considerations==
Salinity is an ecological factor of considerable importance, influencing the types of organisms that live in a body of water. As well, salinity influences the kinds of [[plant]]s that will grow either in a water body, or on land fed by a water (or by a [[groundwater]]).<ref>{{cite web|last=Kalcic, Maria|first=Turowski, Mark; Hall, Callie|title=Stennis Space Center Salinity Drifter Project. A Collaborative Project with Hancock High School, Kiln, MS|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20110008620|work=Stennis Space Center Salinity Drifter Project|publisher=NTRS|access-date=2011-06-16|date=2010-12-22}}</ref>  A plant adapted to saline conditions is called a [[halophyte]]. A halophyte which is tolerant to [[residual sodium carbonate index|residual sodium carbonate]] salinity are called  [[glasswort]] or [[saltwort]] or [[barilla]] plants. Organisms (mostly bacteria) that can live in very salty conditions are classified as [[extremophile]]s, or [[halophile]]s specifically. An organism that can withstand a wide range of salinities is [[euryhaline]].

Salts are expensive to remove from water, and salt content is an important factor in water use, factoring into [[drinking water|potability]] and suitability for [[irrigation]].  Increases in salinity have been observed in lakes and rivers in the United States, due to common [[road salt]] and [[De-ice#Chemical de-icers|other salt de-icers]] in runoff.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wbur.org/news/2018/01/29/road-salt-environmental-dangers|title=Hopes To Hold The Salt, And Instead Break Out Beet Juice And Beer To Keep Roads Clear|website=www.wbur.org|date=29 January 2018 }}</ref>

The degree of salinity in oceans is a driver of the [[Thermohaline circulation|world's ocean circulation]], where density changes due to both salinity changes and temperature changes at the surface of the ocean produce changes in buoyancy, which cause the sinking and rising of water masses. [[Paleosalinity|Changes in the salinity of the oceans]] are thought to contribute to global changes in carbon dioxide as more saline waters are less soluble to carbon dioxide. In addition, during glacial periods, the [[hydrography]] is such that a possible cause of reduced circulation is the production of stratified oceans. In such cases, it is more difficult to subduct water through the thermohaline circulation. 

Not only is salinity a driver of ocean circulation, but changes in ocean circulation also affect salinity, particularly in the subpolar North Atlantic where from 1990 to 2010 increased contributions of Greenland meltwater were counteracted by increased northward transport of salty Atlantic waters.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dukhovskoy |first1=D.S. |last2=Myers |first2=P.G. |last3=Platov |first3=G. |last4=Timmermans |first4=M.L. |last5=Curry |first5=B. |last6=Proshutinsky |first6=A. |last7=Bamber |first7=J.L. |last8=Chassignet |first8=E. |last9=Hu |first9=X. |last10=Lee |first10=C.M. |last11=Somavilla |first11=R. |date=2016 |title=Greenland freshwater pathways in the sub-Arctic Seas from model experiments with passive tracers |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2015JC011290 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |volume=121 |issue=1 |pages=877–907|doi=10.1002/2015JC011290 |bibcode=2016JGRC..121..877D |hdl=1912/7922 |s2cid=603982 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dukhovskoy |first1=D.S. |last2=Yashayaev |first2=I. |last3=Proshutinsky |first3=A. |last4=Bamber |first4=J.L. |last5=Bashmachnikov |first5=I.L. |last6=Chassignet |first6=E.P. |last7=Lee |first7=M. |last8=Tedstone |first8=A.J. |date=2019 |title=Role of Greenland freshwater anomaly in the recent freshening of the subpolar North Atlantic |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |volume=124 |issue=5 |pages=3333–3360|doi=10.1029/2018JC014686 |pmid=31341755 |pmc=6618073 |bibcode=2019JGRC..124.3333D }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stendardo |first1=I. |last2=Rhein |first2=M. |last3=Steinfeldt |first3=R. |date=2020 |title=The North Atlantic Current and its volume and freshwater transports in the subpolar North Atlantic, time period 1993–2016 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |volume=125 |issue=9|doi=10.1029/2020JC016065 |bibcode=2020JGRC..12516065S |s2cid=225238073 |doi-access=free }}</ref> However, North Atlantic waters have become fresher since the mid-2010s due to increased Greenland meltwater flux.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Holliday |first1=N. Penny |last2=Bersch |first2=Manfred |last3=Berx |first3=Barbara |last4=Chafik |first4=Léon |last5=Cunningham |first5=Stuart |last6=Florindo-López |first6=Cristian |last7=Hátún |first7=Hjálmar |last8=Johns |first8=William |last9=Josey |first9=Simon A. |last10=Larsen |first10=Karin Margretha H. |last11=Mulet |first11=Sandrine |date=2020-01-29 |title=Ocean circulation causes the largest freshening event for 120 years in eastern subpolar North Atlantic |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=585 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-14474-y |pmid=31996687 |pmc=6989661 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11..585H |issn=2041-1723}}</ref>