THE OCEANS AND LOCAL CLIMATE Susan Howard Research Associate Earth & Space Research www.esr.org Rice Heat Pack VS. Hot Water Bottle REVIEW! • Heating of Earth comes from Sun • This heating is UNEVEN • The uneven heating causes the air and ocean to MOVE • Because the earth is rotating, the motion CURVES BASIC ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION BASIC OCEAN CIRCULATION THE OCEANS AND LOCAL CLIMATE • Specific Heat • Heat from Ocean Currents • Upwelling/Downwelling SPECIFIC HEAT • Definition: Specific heat is how much energy is needed raise the temperature of something. HIGH the specific heat: down SLOWLY. heats up and cools LOW the specific heat: down QUICKLY. heats up and cools SPECIFIC HEAT Specific Heat of common things: Material Specific heat Liquid Water 4.18 Water vapor 2.11 Dry air 1.01 Basalt 0.84 Granite 0.79 Iron 0.45 Lead 0.13 Which heat’s up the quickest? Rice Heat Pack VS. Hot Water Bottle Has anyone changed their mind? WHY DO WE CARE? The oceans are WATER and have a HIGH SPECIFIC HEAT. They heat up slowly, but cool off slowly as well. Oceans have an AMAZING ability to store heat! TAKE A LOOK AT ANOTHER TWO LOCATIONS AT NEARLY THE SAME LATITUDE Nations Online Project: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/usa_map.htm DAILY HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURE www.unca.edu/~dmiller/Chapter%2003-Air%20Temperature.ppt Average Jan Temperatures Seattle: High 47 F , Low 37F Bismarck: High 23 F , Low 2F From Weather channel: www.weather.com The ocean tends to stores heat during the summer months, and slowly releases it during the winter. Summer Winter This is why coastal regions tend to have milder climates than areas that are far inland. Continental interiors, far from the ocean, experience greater extremes of temperature than coastal regions OCEAN SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES AT NEAH BAY The ocean near Seattle helps to keep the temperature more even. From Weather channel: www.weather.com The lowest recorded temperature in Bismarck was -45°F The lowest recorded in Seattle temperature was 10°F NO WATER, LARGE EXTREMES DESERT DAY/NIGHT CYCLE MOVIE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKzWxD0NRNo THE WINDY COAST – OCEAN BREEZES EXPLAINED! Daily differences in heating & cooling in land vs water leads to on and offshore breezes! Day: Land heats up Ocean is Constant Night: Land cools down http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/edu/k12/.breezes Ocean is Constant SEA BREEZE MOVIE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ULgGOdoY8Q THE OCEANS AND LOCAL CLIMATE • Specific Heat • Heat from Ocean Currents • Upwelling/Downwelling BASIC OCEAN CIRCULATION Some of the currents are moving warm water – and some are moving cool water From http://tornado.sfsu.edu/geosciences/classes/m356/OceanCurrents/Global_currents.jpg CURRENT MOVIE • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu_ Ga0JYFNg North Pacific Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Map. Water temperature bulletin for the North Pacific on 13 April 2011. Credits: Mercator Ocean. North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Map. North Atlantic sea surface temperature from satellites for January 2008. Source: NOC/UK Met-Office OSTIA data. LETS COMPARE TWO PLACE ON THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. London, England Halifax, Nova Scotia LETS COMPARE TWO PLACES NEAR THE OCEAN Halifax, Nova Scotia • Latitude 44.67o N • Average Jan temp High 29oF Low 13oF London, England • Latitude 51.5072° N • Average Jan Temp High 5ooF Low 41oF http://www.holiday-weather.com LETS COMPARE TWO PLACE NEAR THE OCEAN 2oC = 35.6 oF 10oC = 50 oF NORTH ATLANTIC TEMPERATURE MAP North Atlantic sea surface temperature from satellites for January 2008. Source: NOC/UK Met-Office OSTIA data. THE WEST COAST HAS A DIFFERENT CLIMATE THAN THE EAST, PARTLY DUE TO THE OCEAN CURRENTS. http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/ocean/sst/contour/ EAST COAST WEATHER • Gulf stream and Weather movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-zO8L66uyg CURRENT OCEAN TEMPERATURE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST 13oC = 55.4oF 9.7oC = 49.46oF THE OCEANS AND LOCAL CLIMATE • Specific Heat • Ocean currents • Upwelling/downwelling UPWELLING AND DOWNWELLING Ocean Basics: Temperature is not constant with depth. The deeper you go, the colder it gets! Source: http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/qrb/2010_06/article_05.php THERE ARE MORE NUTRIENTS IN COLD/DEEPER WATER LOW Nutrients HIGH Nutrients UPWELLING UPWELLING http://solspot.com/content/surf-articles/adam-wright/ocean-science-101upwelling-downwelling-and-other-random-acts-of-shrinkage UPWELLING MOVING http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al8WrXkLuL4 http://centerforoceansolutions.org/climate/impacts/oceancirculation/ http://agate.coas.oregonstate.edu/ocs/d etailed_upwelling.html http://agate.coas.oregonstate.edu/ocs/detailed_upwelling.html UPWELLING AREAS ARE HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE AREAS! Although coastal upwelling regions account for only one percent of the ocean surface, they contribute roughly 50 percent of the world's fisheries landings. NOAA: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02quest/background/up welling/upwelling.html SOMETIMES, WE GET DOWNWELLING TOO SOURCE: http://www.naylamp.dhn.mil.pe/enlaces/afloramiento_costero.htm UPWELLING & DOWNWELLING INFLUENCE : • Temperature • Fishing • Weather patterns THE OCEANS AND LOCAL CLIMATE • Specific Heat: land and ocean differences coastal climate is milder: warmer in winter/cooler in summer • Heat from Ocean Currents affects a region’s climate • Upwelling/Downwelling affects temperature as well fish habitat.