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Why is sea water salty, when all the rivers pour clean water in it? why can't we drink it?

Even though lots of creatures survive in sea water. and human beings relish eating them. Still it is like Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, the 'Ancient Mariner'

water, water everywhere

nor any drop to drink'

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  • 9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    1) First , although every river pours the clean water in sea , the river water always contains some minerals that may have dissolved from soil or some other reasons.

    every time river water enters in sea , with seasonal changes , the water evaporates because of the solar radiations. In this method , only water molecules get evaporated but minerals & salts remain in sea water.Hence the sea water becomes more salty.

    2) As far as our body is concerned , it can work faithfully only when the pH of our blood remains in particular range. when we drink any water which has relatively less or more pH , it get directly assimilated with blood tending change its pH . It is very fatal as in extreme cases , change in blood pH is a major cause of death . Hence it is not advisable to drink sea water/salty water continuously.

    Source(s): standard book of chemistry , HSC maharastra board.
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