The big body of the ocean water brings massive benefit to many things in the world. It is done through the ocean minerals it holds. Humans have now rely on minerals such as Boron, Sulfur and Manganese. The marine ecosystem also depends on ocean minerals so that everything can carry on how they’re supposed to.
Ocean minerals keep every marine creatures alive. These 17 Importance of Ocean Minerals will tell you more about the functions of the ocean minerals. See how useful these ocean minerals are to our lives.
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1. Growth of Marine Creatures
Ocean mineral like calcium is highly important for corals formation. It helps the corals to make their skeletons which has a large component of calcium carbonate. Other than that, calcium also help in making the hard shell of creatures such as crabs. Good quality of hard shells are needed for marine creatures. The shells become their home, their protection and defence against predators.
2. Feed Marine Plants
There are traces of potassium in the ocean water. This particular mineral helps marine plants to grow. Potassium is especially abundant where the ocean water has a high percentage of salt. Other than that, it can also be found in the ocean sediments.
3. Obtaining Salt
Salt can be obtained directly from the salt. That’s why some salts are called sea salts. They are safe to consume and undergo less bleaching process rather than the usual table salt. This mineral is important for the human body and may also be used to treat the skin, such as exfoliating.
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4. Maintain Ocean Salinity
The level of salinity in the ocean is important to maintain as it is a matter of life and death. Any slight changes could be fatal to every marine creatures in the ocean. Sulphur is an ocean mineral that can help phytoplankton to make dimethylsulphide that is able to control the salinity of the ocean.
5. Car Batteries
There is an increasing demand for car batteries and the ocean minerals can help with that. Bromine is one of the compounds that is used to make them. So, this ocean mineral can help people to create vehicles that run on a greener form of energy. Environmentally friendly sources of energy will reduce the negative impacts from fossil fuels that are still released by many vehicles on the road.
6. Maintain Ocean Saltiness
Apparently, chloride contributes to the saltiness of the ocean. After all, both chloride and sodium are often used to make salt. The percentage of chloride is high in the ocean water, that’s why the water has that distinct saltiness to it.
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7. Keep Ocean Water Clean
Plants can take in an ocean mineral known as boron to help them function. The mineral will keep them healthy. Through that, the ocean plants can keep the ocean water clean because they are able to carry out their functions properly.
8. Treating Acne
Acne is a skin condition that many people are dealing with. Most of the acne medicines rely on ocean minerals as one of their ingredients. For instance, the sulfur found in the ocean can help to detox the skin. Thus, the skin will heal and become purified.
9. Medicine for Animals
Potassium bromide is the right ocean mineral for this purpose. It’s able to treat cases of seizures and epilepsy that dogs might be experiencing. The medicine for this treatment is important as it’s often given as early as possible.
10. Medicine for Humans
Humans get some benefit from ocean minerals as well. Magnesium is a great in making medicines that could treat muscles, bone or heart problems. Other than that, magnesium is an important nutrient that is actually needed in the human body.
11. Nutrients for Marine Plants
Phosphate is an ocean mineral that serves as additional nutrients for marine plants. It is often released through the process of decaying that happen in the ocean. Phosphate may also be released from the fecal matter of marine animals.
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12. Study Past Tectonic Plates
Ocean minerals can aid in studies and research. A good example of this would be the mineral strontium. Scientists would often use it to study the ocean sediments. They hold the answer to what tectonic plates were like in the past years. Any information on the past tectonic plates will be a great source of information in understanding the structure of earth.
13. Road Constructions
The limestone mineral in the ocean is actually useful in constructing roads. Besides that, it can also be used to make cement. It is accumulated through dead shells from marine creatures in the ocean. That’s why this mineral is rich on the ocean floor.
14. Study Ocean Circulation
There is still a lot to be uncovered about the ocean circulation and all of its patterns. Protactinium is the ocean mineral that will help scientists to carry out their studies. This mineral has a long lifetime. So, the changes in the mineral can help scientists see how the ocean circulation is behaving.
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15. Steel Production
The ocean mineral is also used in steel production. Manganese nodules are lumps of minerals found in the bottom of the ocean. They are extracted so that they can be turned into the various kinds of steels that we use today.
16. Can Production
Another thing that manganese is useful for is making cans. It’s the right material because it can withstand corrosive materials. People need cans to store all kinds of food or for other necessary purposes.
17. Magnetic Properties
The ocean mineral, Boron, has crucial magnetic properties that is now put into good use for various purposes. The MRI machines in hospitals actually use this magnetic property so that it can function. It’s a lifesaving machine that has a great contribution in the medical world. Besides the machine, the magnetic property of boron is included in making speakers and DVDs.
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- Importance of Thermodynamics in Marine Engineering
- Importance of Marine Resources to Pacific Islands
More and more studies are conducted to gain more knowledge about these ocean minerals. New discoveries might lead to another groundbreaking invention or use of the minerals.