OCEANS And CLIMATE

How Do Surface Currents Affect Climate? Ocean currents act as conveyer belts of warm and cold water, sending heat toward the polar regions and helping tropical areas cool off.

How do Oceans Affect Air Temperature? The majority of the sun's radiation is absorbed by the ocean. The ocean absorbs and releases heat much more slowly than land. Oceans gradually release heat into the atmosphere keeping air temp constant.

How do Oceans Affect Air Temperature? Warm water can heat air and produce warmer air temperatures.  Cold water can absorb heat and produce cooler air temperatures.

How do Surface Currents Affect Climate? Surface currents bring warm water from the equator to cooler parts of the ocean; they transfer heat energy.  Eg. The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that transports warm water from the equator past the east coast of North America and across the Atlantic to Europe. The Gulf Stream's warm waters give Europe a much warmer climate than other places at the same latitude. If the Gulf Stream were severely disrupted, temperatures would plunge in Europe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuGrBhK2c7U

WARM-WATER CURRENTS AND CLIMATE Surface currents can make coastal areas warmer than inland areas at the same latitude.  For example, Great Britain and Newfoundland, Canada, are located at about the same latitude. However, the Gulf Stream flows close to Great Britain. The warm water of the Gulf Stream warms the air around Great Britain. As a result, Great Britain has a milder climate than Newfoundland.

HOW DOES CLIMATE AFFECT OCEANS ?

We know that the Climate is getting Warmer Burning Fossil Fuels creates Greenhouse Gases Green House gases in the atmosphere trap heat radiating from Earth toward space, causing a "greenhouse effect“

How Does Climate Affects Oceans?

Greenhouse effect causes Global Warming Global Warming is causing the Sea Ice to melt, Melting ice causes water levels to rise and large scale change in ocean circulations

What would happen if sea levels rise? New map https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbiRNT_gWUQ Bill Nye 6 min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6CPsGanO_U

Ocean Acidification Burning fossil fuels releases excess CO2 into the atmosphere. More CO2 in atmosphere means more CO2 dissolving into the oceans, lowering the pH, making it more acidic, causing Ocean Acidification 

What’s the big deal? Sea creatures use calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to build their shells. 

When oceans absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, the CO2 combines with the water to form carbonic acid.

Carbonic Acid is not stable and breaks down into bicarbonate, hydrogen ions which increases the acidity. Calcium carbonate needed to make shells dissolves in high acidity.

Less Calcium carbonate available leads to thinner shells Less Calcium carbonate available leads to thinner shells. Sea creatures are then less able to protect themselves, decreased survival

Ocean Acidification Explained https://education.ocean.org/oceanlitlib/assignments/1114 405 Ocean Acidification Explained

Could Ocean currents be stopped? Ocean currents play an important role in controlling climate around the world. These currents act like a giant conveyor belt, warming and cooling parts of the Earth as water circulates. Melting ice caps, caused by global warming, could affect the conditions that cause ocean waters to circulate and have a dramatic effect on climate.

How could ocean currents be stopped? An effect of global warming is that polar ice caps are beginning to melt. As ice caps are composed of freshwater only, continual melting would lower the salinity in surrounding ocean. Melting ice caps could Lower salinity which would make ocean water less dense, and not sink, affecting thermohaline currents.

What would happen if Ocean Currents Stopped? Climate could change quite significantly, particularly in Europe and countries in the North Atlantic. In these countries: temperatures would drop, affecting humans as well as plants and animals. In turn, economies involving agriculture could also be affected, If these effects were to continue, Europe, North Atlantic countries and parts of North America could experience long periods of freezing conditions.

What if the Gulf Stream Stopped?

Homework Complete Ocean Acidification Lab Study for Ocean Unit Test