The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of seawater composition on the deposition, microstructure and morphology of calcium carbonate scales on AISI 316L electrodes using chronoamperometry, scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The corrosion behavior of deposit covered electrodes was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). In addition, the barrier properties of deposit covered electrodes in terms of the porous nature of deposited layers were evaluated based on the impedance magnitude measured at the lowest frequency. Using a general full factorial statistical approach, the determining ion that highly influences the barrier characteristics of the deposited layers was found to be Ca2+, followed by Mg2+ and an interaction between Mg2+ and SO42- ions. To have a dense layer of aragonite crystals with limited permeability, it was shown that the electrode should be polarized in a seawater with higher Ca2+ concentration and low concentration levels of Mg2+ and SO42- ions. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.