THE BUFFER CAPACITY OF SEA WATER

Abstract

1. The method of Thompson and Bonnar for measuring the buffer capacity of sea water has been modified by the introduction of the use of standard correction values to make allowance for the effects of salts upon hydrogen ion activity and upon the dissociation of brom phenol blue. These values are reported in tabulated and graphic form.2. Various sources of error in the method are discussed and corresponding refinements of technique suggested.3. The specific buffer capacity of Atlantic waters according to these measurements is lower than that of Pacific waters, so far as yet investigated.4. Lower specific buffer capacities were found in the Atlantic Ocean to the southward and in the Caribbean Sea than in the neighborhood of Cape Cod and the Gulf of Maine.5. In general, an increase in buffer capacity with respect to depth was observed, but in the Gulf of Maine and the western part of the Caribbean this relation was distinctly reversed.6. The effects of mass movements of ocean water upon the buffer capacity appear to be traceable.