Why land has higher temperature than ocean & surface ocean water temperatures vary less from season to season than do air temperatures over nearby land masses?
Simple physics suggests that when you put more heat into the climate system, land should warm more quickly than oceans. This is because land has a smaller “heat capacity” than water, which means it needs less heat to raise its temperature. Land surfaces absorb much more solar radiation than water. Water reflects most solar radiation that reaches its surface back to the atmosphere. Since land absorbs more solar radiation the land surface retains more heat as do the vegetation for energy. Thus, land surfaces warm more quickly than water.Oceans have a greater heat capacity than land because the specific heat of water is greater than that of dry soil and because a mixing of the upper ocean results in a much larger mass of water being heated than land.
In fact that At high latitudes, ocean waters receive less sunlight – the poles receive only 40 percent of the heat that the equator does. These variations in solar energy mean that the ocean surface can vary in temperature from a warm 30°C (86°F) in the tropics to a very cold -2°C (28°F) near the poles. Mid-ocean surface temperatures vary with latitude in response to the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing longwave radiation. There is an excess of incoming solar radiation at latitudes less than approximately 45° and an excess of radiation loss at latitudes higher than approximately 45°. The lowest ocean surface temperatures are found near the North Pole and near Antarctica. The highest ocean surface temperatures are found near the equator. This is because, on average, the sun's rays are most direct at the equator and less direct farther away from the equator. Because water has a much higher heat capacity, or specific heat, than do sands, soils or other materials, for a given amount of solar irradiation water temperature will increase less than land temperature. The ocean warms and cools more slowly than the atmosphere, thus coastal weather tends to be more moderate than continental weather, with fewer hot and cold extremes. Evaporation from the ocean, especially in the tropics, creates most rain clouds, influencing the location of wet and dry zones on land. This is because land has a smaller “heat capacity” than water, which means it needs less heat to raise its temperature. The chart below shows how the Earth's land surface (yellow line) has warmed more rapidly than the ocean (dark blue) over the observational record. This means that land heats and cools more quickly than water and this difference affects the climate of different areas on Earth. Different energy transfer processes also contribute to different rates of heating between land and water. This means that land heats and cools more quickly than water and this difference affects the climate of different areas on Earth. Different energy transfer processes also contribute to different rates of heating between land and water.
At high latitudes, ocean waters receive less sunlight – the poles receive only 40 percent of the heat that the equator does. These variations in solar energy mean that the ocean surface can vary in temperature from a warm 30°C (86°F) in the tropics to a very cold -2°C (28°F) near the poles. Mid-ocean surface temperatures vary with latitude in response to the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing long wave radiation. There is an excess of incoming solar radiation at latitudes less than approximately 45° and an excess of radiation loss at latitudes higher than approximately 45°. Surface temperature of ocean water is highest near equator and decreases as one moves towards poles. Prevailing winds Coriolis force causes the trade winds to move from east to west on both sides of the equator. The lowest ocean surface temperatures are found near the North Pole and near Antarctica. The highest ocean surface temperatures are found near the equator. This is because, on average, the sun's rays are most direct at the equator and less direct farther away from the equator. Sea surface temperature (SST) is the water temperature close to the ocean's surface. It varies mainly with latitude, with the warmest waters generally near the equator and the coldest waters in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. As the oceans absorb more heat, sea surface temperature increases, and the ocean circulation patterns that transport warm and cold water around the globe change. Changes in sea surface temperature can alter marine ecosystems in several ways. This is because land has a smaller “heat capacity” than water, which means it needs less heat to raise its temperature. The chart below shows how the Earth's land surface (yellow line) has warmed more rapidly than the ocean (dark blue) over the observational record. This means that land heats and cools more quickly than water and this difference affects the climate of different areas on Earth. Different energy transfer processes also contribute to different rates of heating between land and water.
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