Global ocean freshwater budget
= Global ocean freshwater budget
{title2=$\dot M=R+I+P-E$}
With positive freshwater runoff $R$, net <sea ice> melt $I$ and precipitation $P$, and evaporation loss $E$, the ocean water-mass budget is $\dot M=R+I+P-E$. With salt-free ice and fixed total dissolved salt mass, mean <salinity> satisfies $\dot S/S=-\dot M/M$. Gross regional ice melt must not be substituted for net global melt without accounting for ice formation elsewhere and the averaging period.