Role of the Ocean

Question 1

Ocean role on climate

Answer 1

• Absorbs and stores carbon radiation
• Transports heat
• Part of hydrological and carbon cycle
• Produces oxygen

Question 2

Heat

Answer 2

• Largest store of solar radiation due to its high heat capacity
• Role is highly important in the equator
• Heat content anomaly has been increasing rapidly in the 3rd quarter of the last century
• Ocean current smove heat from equator to poles and cold water from poles to equator
• Pacific ocean carries the most heat

Question 3

Water Cycle

Answer 3

• Most of the water cycle is an exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean
• 80% precipitation goes into ocean.
• Ocean evaporation makes up 85% of total evaporation
• This evaporation leads to the formation of clouds and eventually storms

Question 4

Carbon cycle

Answer 4

• The ocean is the largest carbon sink
• More CO2 leads to a more acidic ph, reducing the formation of calcium carbonate

Question 5

Oxygen

Answer 5

Small organisms like Prochlorococcus produce 70% of the atmospheric oxygen

Question 6

Salinity

Answer 6

• Salinity is highly variable through depths and latitudes
• In deep ocean, the salinity is very constant
• The vertical zone where the salinity suddenly changes is called Halocline

Question 7

Temperature

Answer 7

• Temperature is variable across depth and latitudes
• In the deep ocean, the temperature is fairly constant
• The sharp temperature gradiant zone is called the Thermocline
• The Thermocline is not as dinstinguished in the poles

Question 8

Density

Answer 8

• Cold water is denser than warm water
• Saltier water is more dense
• Ocean water is 3% denser than freshwater
• Deep water density is constant
• The vertical gradiant of density is called Pincnoline

Question 9

Boundary currents

Answer 9

Western
* Gulf stream - North Atlantic
* Kuroshio current - North Pacific
* Agulhas current - South Atlantic
Eastern
* Benguela current - South Atlantic
* Canary current - North Atlantic
* California current - North Atlantic

Question 10

Global Earth Circulation

Answer 10

• A global system of both surface and deep water current
• Driven by heat and freshwater fluxes at the surface
• Driven by the mixing of heat and salt in the deep