What bad thing would happen to Earth if the sea was no longer salty?

According to USGS - US Geological Survey, Earth is estimated to have 1.386 million cubic kilometers of water, of which salt water accounts for 96.5%, the rest is fresh water.

According to WHO statistics, 1 in 7 people on Earth do not have access to clean water. It is predicted that when the world population will double by 2030, 50% of people will not have clean water.

If we convert saline water from the ocean into fresh water, the problem of water shortage can be solved. However, things are not so simple.

What bad thing would happen to Earth if the sea was no longer salty? Picture 1

Saline sea water is due to the continuous process of pouring rivers into the sea. Each year about 4 billion tons of salt from rivers flow into the oceans.

To better understand the origin of the ocean, the origin of salt, how salt water, you can see in the article 'Why is salt water?'.

What bad thing would happen to Earth if the sea was no longer salty? Picture 2

If the sea is not saline, the ecosystem will be turned upside down

If you turn all salt water into fresh water, life on Earth will be turned upside down by the countless marine creatures that can only exist in salt water.

Today, humans have discovered more than 260,000 species of marine life, a tiny part of the ocean.

Without salt water, marine creatures will disappear and humans will lose valuable food resources. Meanwhile, the economies of the countries that depend on the fishery and the importing countries will be affected.

All saltwater turns into fresh water that will cause 10,000 species of seaweed to disappear. This particular species, both an animal and a plant, can eat organic matter that helps purify water and photosynthesis to help consume CO2 and emit oxygen.

What bad thing would happen to Earth if the sea was no longer salty? Picture 3

Not green plants but algae that purify 70% of the oxygen on Earth. Trees consume the exact amount of oxygen they produce. Algae produce oxygen and the carbon they collect will sink to the bottom of the sea, forming oil when they die. Therefore, if algae are no longer available, the oxygen concentration on Earth will be severely reduced.

Sweet sea will cause climate change

The oceans play an important role in the process of climate formation. Ocean currents exist because of differences in density and they can affect land weather.

When the evaporated water remains salt, the ocean water on the surface of the snake will be more salty and heavier. Therefore, this layer of water will sink to the bottom. This movement will create currents.

The currents will bring warm or cool water thousands of kilometers away, when the wind blows warm or cool the air of many land areas.

What bad thing would happen to Earth if the sea was no longer salty? Picture 4

The freezing temperature of the salt water is lower. So the oceans will be more frozen in the winter without salt. This causes temperatures in hot climates and cold places to drop. This difference in temperature will result in more frequent storms (both on land and sea).

The rapid climate change makes land creatures unable to adapt and become extinct.

1. Why are there no three-legged creatures on Earth?