<p> Ocean – Climate Relationship </p><p>The ocean covers 70% of the Earth’s surface.</p><p>The ocean carries out about 50% of global primary production (bottom of food chain).</p><p>The ocean plays a fundamental role in shaping the climate zones we see on land.</p><p>Climate: the general weather conditions in an area over a long period of time. </p><p>THE OCEANS STORE HEAT!</p><p> The majority of the sun’s radiation is absorbed by the ocean.</p><p> The ocean acts as a massive, storage reservoir of heat (especially in the tropical waters around the equator).</p><p> The ocean then helps distribute this heat around the world.</p><p>-Evaporation</p><p>-Ocean currents</p><p>EVAPORATION</p><p> Most evaporation occurs over the ocean.</p><p> This constant evaporation increases the temperature and humidity of the surrounding air to form rain and storms, which are then carried by global winds long distances away.</p><p>PRECIPITATION</p><p> Almost all rain that falls on land starts in the ocean.</p><p> The tropics are very rainy because heat absorption (and evaporation) is highest in this area.</p><p>SURFACE CURRENTS</p><p> Weather patterns are also largely driven by ocean currents.</p><p> Surface Currents: continuous movements of ocean water that are caused by surface winds, temperature and salinity differences, the Earth’s rotation, and tides.</p><p>How do surface currents regulate the climate?</p><p>Ocean currents act like a giant conveyor belt: • Transports warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles.</p><p>• Transports cold water from the poles back to the tropics.</p><p>• Regulates the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface</p><p>• Without currents, regional temperatures would be more extreme—super hot at the equator and frigid at the poles—and much less land would be habitable (livable).</p><p>THE GULF STREAM</p><p> An intense, warm ocean current that moves north from the coast of Florida to Cape Hatteras (NC), and then flows northeast across the Atlantic Ocean.</p><p> It is the main conveyor of heat from south to north on the USA east coast.</p><p> Carries almost 4 billion cubic feet of warm water per second, an amount greater than that carried by all of the world’s rivers combined!!</p><p> The east coast of the US and the west coast of Europe are much warmer as a result of this!</p><p>Cape Hatteras, NC</p><p> Here, the warm Gulf Stream collides with the colder Labrador Current, resulting in an upwelling of nutrient-rich water (good fishing!).</p><p> How would the climates of coastal cities south of Cape Hatteras, NC be affected by the Gulf Stream?</p>