Brackish water
Brackish water is water that is saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as sea water. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur naturally, as in brackish fossil aquifers. Technically, brackish water contains between 0.5 and 30 grams of salt per litre—more often expressed as 0.5 to 30 parts per thousand (ppt or ‰). Thus, brackish covers a range of salinity regimes and is not considered a precisely defined condition. It is characteristic of many brackish surface waters that their salinity can vary considerably over space and/or time.
Etymology
The term brackish water derives from the Low Saxon word brackwater, which is the water of a brack. A brack is a small lake created when a storm tide breaks a dike and floods land behind the dike.
Brackish bodies of water
- Lake Pontchartrain north of New Orleans, Louisiana
- Pulicat Lake, north of Chennai, India
- Kaliveli Lake, near Pondichery, India
- Chilka Lake, in Orissa state, India
- The Rann of Kutch on the border of India and Pakistan
See also
da:Brakvand de:Brackwasser nl:Brakwater nds:Brackwater pt:Salobra sv:Bräckt vatten