While standing watch in the engine room, you notice a high reading at a salinity cell located in the loop seal between two stages of a flash type evaporator. This would indicate __________.

Correct Answer: Option D — carryover in the first-stage

High salinity in the loop seal between evaporator stages indicates that brine droplets are being carried over from the first stage into the second. This carryover typically results from excessive boiling rates, foaming, or damaged demister baffles, which allow contaminated water to bypass the separation process.