Sea spray is a spray

Spray

Spray can refer to:* Spray ** Aerosol spray** Blood spray** Road/tire spray, kicked up from a vehicle tire** Snow spray, a spray that creates artificial snow fall...

 of water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 that forms when ocean

Ocean

An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...

 waves crash.

Make up

As a result, salt spray contains a high concentration of mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

 salts, particularly chloride

Chloride

The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine, a halogen, picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−. The salts of hydrochloric acid HCl contain chloride ions and can also be called chlorides. The chloride ion, and its salts such as sodium chloride, are very soluble in water...

 anions.

Effects

Salt spray is largely responsible for corrosion

Corrosion

Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...

 of metallic objects near the coastline, as the salts accelerate the corrosion process. Salts generally do not dissolve in air directly.

Chemical resistance

The salt spray test

Salt spray test

The salt spray test is a standardized test method used to check corrosion resistance of coated samples. Coatings provide corrosion resistance to metallic parts made of steel, zamak or brass. Since coatings can provide a high corrosion resistance through the intended life of the part in use, it is...

 is a notable gauge of material resistance, particularly if the material will be used outdoors and must perform in a mechanical load bearing or otherwise critical role.

These results are often of great interest to the marine industries, whose products may suffer extreme acceleration of corrosion and subsequent failure due to the salt water environment.

See also

• Coastal erosion
  Coastal erosion
  Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
  
  
• Cloud reflectivity modification
• Sea air
  Sea air
  The air at or by the sea is traditionally thought to be healthy. This was variously attributed to iodine or ozone but its cleanliness or salt may be more significant....
  
  
• Sea breeze
  Sea breeze
  A sea-breeze is a wind from the sea that develops over land near coasts. It is formed by increasing temperature differences between the land and water; these create a pressure minimum over the land due to its relative warmth, and forces higher pressure, cooler air from the sea to move inland...
  
  
• Salt Air
  Salt Air
  Salt Air is a New Zealand airline based in Paihia in the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand...
  
   --- New Zealand Airline
• Saltwater intrusion
  Saltwater intrusion
  Saltwater intrusion is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers. Most often, it is caused by ground-water pumping from coastal wells, or from construction of navigation channels or oil field canals. The channels and canals provide conduits for salt water to be brought into fresh...
  
  
• Wind wave