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.