Uploaded March 2020 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
Join me as we explore the mystery of why the Pacific and Atlantic don't mix. ( Oceans Mystery)
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If you were to go into space right now and look down at the Earth, you would see two distinct things. You would see the land via the continents that we live on, but you would also go and see the oceans that fill the planet with the water we depend on. And from that distance you would think that all the oceans seamlessly blend into one another in such a way you'd think it was a grand design. But, when you get closer and close to those said waters, you'll notice that there are clear differences in the looks of those oceans.
Specifically, the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. They honestly don't mix, and it's caused a lot of people a LOT of confusion as to why that is. Because on the surface (pun intended), it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't mix. Because both are water, and they obviously have SOME balance in order to "live" next to one another, so why is it that they don't mix like they should?
If you go to certain areas of the world, you'll be able to see actual borders of the oceans colliding with one another in a way that makes it clear that you're looking at two VERY different bodies of water. But what exactly is going on here? How is it possible that two bodies of water can not mix in this way and look so different? This is because of a very basic factor about water. Mainly, its salinity.
Salinity is literally about the amount of salt that is dissolved within a body of water. That's why oceans are known as saltwater and rivers for the most part are freshwater because they don't have as much salt in them and thus are safe to drink. Because of the different locations, temperatures, weather patterns, lifeforms and more that lie within and around the various oceans, the salinity of each is different. And since they are so different, they cannot mix.
This results in areas of the world where the oceans meet in such a way that they literally cannot mix and you can see key differences between them. And there are multiple places like this all over the world. A fun fact about this is that legendary ocean documentary maker Jacques Cousteau was the person to discover this border between the two oceans.
These Haloclines or "Ocean Clines" are the most clear way of noticing that the oceans for one reason or another aren't mixing, and they've created several myths about was truly going on because of the fact that this was "so spectacular" and "so weird".
But you might be wondering, "Just how salty does it have to be to make one of these Haloclines?" Well, as noted, it has to do with Salinity, but to be more specific, you have to make it so that the water is at least 5 times more salty than the ocean that it is clashing up against.
If you want to test this out for yourself, you can do it very easily if you're in the right spot. All you have to do is get some sea water or ocean water, and then our that into a glass about halfway. Then, get some fresh water from your tap or a local river and then fill the rest of the glass. You'll see immediately that these waters don't mix, and that dividing line in the middle is the Halocline.
A key difference though is that the Halocline you'll see in the glass in horizontal. because of how gravity and the Earth is oriented, the ones in the oceans are actually vertical. Though when you see it from your perspective on the top of the ocean they'll seem horizontal. But if you were to dive into the oceans (like Jacques Cousteau did when he discovered them), you'll see that they indeed go up and down.
Now at this point you might be thinking, "Well wait a minute, if the salinity is messing with the water, and it's great enough, shouldn't it be denser? And thus, shouldn't the more dense water be below the less dense water?"
If this was basic forces at work here, you would be right. 9/10 a more dense object will sink while a less dense object will float. And to an extent, the oceans do this, but not when it comes to the clash of oceans. Mainly because when you compare the densities of the two oceans, they're honestly not that much different even with the various salinity. It does cause them not to mix along with the salt, but it's not enough of a shift in order to go up and down and "layer" each other. Ironically, if this WAS to happen, the Haloclines wouldn't be noticeable unless you dove down into the water itself.
There's more going on here though than just density and salt though, there are also properties of Inertia at work here.
Before we dive into the science of Inertia, be sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel! That way you don't miss ANY of our weekly videos!
#DownTheRabbithole #Oceans #Mysteries
Join me as we explore the mystery of why the Pacific and Atlantic don't mix. ( Oceans Mystery)
Subscribe for more videos: youtube.com/c/DownTheRabbitHoleG9As1e?sub_confirmation=1?
If you were to go into space right now and look down at the Earth, you would see two distinct things. You would see the land via the continents that we live on, but you would also go and see the oceans that fill the planet with the water we depend on. And from that distance you would think that all the oceans seamlessly blend into one another in such a way you'd think it was a grand design. But, when you get closer and close to those said waters, you'll notice that there are clear differences in the looks of those oceans.
Specifically, the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. They honestly don't mix, and it's caused a lot of people a LOT of confusion as to why that is. Because on the surface (pun intended), it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't mix. Because both are water, and they obviously have SOME balance in order to "live" next to one another, so why is it that they don't mix like they should?
If you go to certain areas of the world, you'll be able to see actual borders of the oceans colliding with one another in a way that makes it clear that you're looking at two VERY different bodies of water. But what exactly is going on here? How is it possible that two bodies of water can not mix in this way and look so different? This is because of a very basic factor about water. Mainly, its salinity.
Salinity is literally about the amount of salt that is dissolved within a body of water. That's why oceans are known as saltwater and rivers for the most part are freshwater because they don't have as much salt in them and thus are safe to drink. Because of the different locations, temperatures, weather patterns, lifeforms and more that lie within and around the various oceans, the salinity of each is different. And since they are so different, they cannot mix.
This results in areas of the world where the oceans meet in such a way that they literally cannot mix and you can see key differences between them. And there are multiple places like this all over the world. A fun fact about this is that legendary ocean documentary maker Jacques Cousteau was the person to discover this border between the two oceans.
These Haloclines or "Ocean Clines" are the most clear way of noticing that the oceans for one reason or another aren't mixing, and they've created several myths about was truly going on because of the fact that this was "so spectacular" and "so weird".
But you might be wondering, "Just how salty does it have to be to make one of these Haloclines?" Well, as noted, it has to do with Salinity, but to be more specific, you have to make it so that the water is at least 5 times more salty than the ocean that it is clashing up against.
If you want to test this out for yourself, you can do it very easily if you're in the right spot. All you have to do is get some sea water or ocean water, and then our that into a glass about halfway. Then, get some fresh water from your tap or a local river and then fill the rest of the glass. You'll see immediately that these waters don't mix, and that dividing line in the middle is the Halocline.
A key difference though is that the Halocline you'll see in the glass in horizontal. because of how gravity and the Earth is oriented, the ones in the oceans are actually vertical. Though when you see it from your perspective on the top of the ocean they'll seem horizontal. But if you were to dive into the oceans (like Jacques Cousteau did when he discovered them), you'll see that they indeed go up and down.
Now at this point you might be thinking, "Well wait a minute, if the salinity is messing with the water, and it's great enough, shouldn't it be denser? And thus, shouldn't the more dense water be below the less dense water?"
If this was basic forces at work here, you would be right. 9/10 a more dense object will sink while a less dense object will float. And to an extent, the oceans do this, but not when it comes to the clash of oceans. Mainly because when you compare the densities of the two oceans, they're honestly not that much different even with the various salinity. It does cause them not to mix along with the salt, but it's not enough of a shift in order to go up and down and "layer" each other. Ironically, if this WAS to happen, the Haloclines wouldn't be noticeable unless you dove down into the water itself.
There's more going on here though than just density and salt though, there are also properties of Inertia at work here.
Before we dive into the science of Inertia, be sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel! That way you don't miss ANY of our weekly videos!
#DownTheRabbithole #Oceans #Mysteries
