How do oceans help stabilize the earth’s climate?
The oceans influence climate by absorbing solar radiation and releasing heat needed to drive the atmospheric circulation, by releasing aerosols that influence cloud cover, by emitting most of the water that falls on land as rain, by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it for years to millions of …
How do oceans regulate the climate quizlet?
How does the ocean influence the climate? Oceans absorb and retain solar heat and produce rain by evaporation; tradewinds carry storms and rain; currents regulate global climate, minimizing regional extremes. … Water evaporates from the ocean’s surface, and the vapors form the clouds.
Why does the ocean create a more stable climate?
Seawater density increases with depth too, because the sunlight that warms the ocean is absorbed at the surface, whereas the deep ocean is full of cold water. The change in density with depth is referred to by oceanographers as stability. The faster density increases with depth, the more stable the ocean is said to be.
How does ocean affect climate?
Ocean currents act much like a conveyer belt, transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics. Thus, currents regulate global climate, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface.
What role do oceans play in the water cycle?
Not only do the oceans provide evaporated water to the water cycle, they also allow water to move all around the globe as ocean currents. Oceans are the storehouses of water nature uses to run the water cycle.
How do oceans influence coastal climates quizlet?
Ocean currents result in areas of relatively predictable temperatures and precipitation. In the summer, the ocean remains cooler, so land near the ocean is cooled in the summer by the ocean breeze. In the winter, the ocean retains some of its heat, making coastal areas somewhat warmer than inland areas in the winter.
What is one important role that ocean waters have in heating Earth?
The ocean absorbs heat energy from the sun. … When the land is cold the warm ocean currents move along the coast and heats up air that moves to the earth’s surface and hence heat the earth. Since 75% of the earth is covered with water then oceans play a major role in heating the land.
What is the overall effect of the oceans on Earth’s climate quizlet?
a) As ocean surface temperatures increase, the energy transferred to the atmosphere increases air temperatures. There is a lag time as the heat capacity of oceans release heat slowly. Land areas closest to the ocean receive more mild temperatures than areas farther inland.
How do oceans and atmosphere interact like feedback mechanisms for each other in controlling our climate?
Ocean currents act as conveyer belts of warm and cold water, sending heat toward the polar regions and helping tropical areas cool off, thus influencing both weather and climate. … Land areas also absorb some sunlight, and the atmosphere helps to retain heat that would otherwise quickly radiate into space after sunset.
How do climates and the controls of climate variability vary between the tropics and the middle and high latitudes?
How do climates and the controls of climate variability vary between the tropics and the middle and high latitudes? … tropical latitudes are typically warmer than middle and high latitudes and have precipitation controlled by the Intertropical Convergence Zone.