Chemical Composition of Seawater
From Microcosm Aquarium Explorer
Water over an Indo-Pacific coral reef. Larry P. Tackett
Elements Found in Ocean Water
"Ocean: A body of water occupying two-thirds of a world made for man - who has no gills."
—Ambrose Bierce
Major Elements (Over 100 ppm)
Constituent - Symbol - Concentration (ppm)
- Chlorine – Cl - 18,980
- Sodium – Na - 10,560
- Magnesium – Mg - 1,280
- Sulfur – S - 884
- Calcium – Ca - 400
- Potassium – K - 380
Minor Elements (1–100 ppm)
- Bromine – Br - 65
- Carbon – C - 28
- Strontium – Sr - 8.5
- Boron – B - 4.6
- Fluorine – F - 1.4
Trace Elements (Under 1 ppm)
Biologically Important Trace Elements in Boldface
- Rubidium – Rb
- Aluminum – Al
- Lithium – Li
- Barium – Ba
- Iodine – I
- Silicon – Si
- Nitrogen – N
- Zinc – Zn
- Lead – Pb
- Selenium – Se
- Arsenic – As
- Copper – Cu
- Tin – Sn
- Iron – Fe
- Cesium – Cs
- Manganese – Mn
- Phosphorous – P
- Thorium – Th
- Mercury – Hg
- Uranium – U
- Cobalt – Co
- Nickel – Ni
- Radium – Ra
- Beryllium – Be
- Cadmium – Cd
- Chromium – Cr
- Titanium – Ti
- Molybdenum – Mo
- Vanadium – V
- Antimony – Sb
- Gold – Au
- Silver – Ag
- Krypton – Kr
- Xenon – Xe
- Bismuth – Bi
- Zirconium – Zr
- Niobium – Nb
- Thallium – Tl
- Hafnium – Hf
- Helium – He
- Argon – Ar
- Neon – Ne
- Tungsten – W
- Germanium – Ge
- Rhenium – Re
- Lanthanum– La
- Neodymium – Nd
- Tantalum – Ta
- Yttrium – Y
- Cerium – Ce
- Dysprosium – Dy
- Erbium – Er
- Ytterbium – Yb
- Gadolinium – Gd
- Praseodymium – Pr
- Scandium – Sc
- Holmium – Ho
- Lutetium – Lu
- Indium – In
- Terbium – Tb
- Samarium – Sm
- Europium – Eu
- Protactinium – Pa
- Radon – Rn
- Technetium – Tc
- Ruthenium – Ru
- Rhodium – Rh
- Palladium – Pd
- Osmium – Os
- Iridium – Ir
- Platinum – Pt
- Astatine – At
- Francium – Fr
- Actinium – Ac