TEOS-10 is based on thermodynamic potentials. Fluids like humid air and liquid water in TEOS-10 are therefore described by the Helmholtz energy F(m,T,V)=F(m,T,m/ρ) or the specific Helmholtz-energy f(T,ρ)=F(m,T,m/ρ)/m. The Helmholtz energy has a unique value across phase boundaries. For the calculation of the thermodynamic properties of seawater and ice, TEOS-10 uses the specific Gibbs potential g(T,P)=G/m, G=F+pV, because the pressure is a more easily measurable property than density in a geophysical context. Gibbs energies are multivalued around phase boundaries and need to be defined for each phase separately.