How does the ocean influence the weather along the West Coast?
The ocean influences weather patterns by distributing heat and moisture around the globe. Tropical storms form over warm ocean waters, which supply the energy for hurricanes and typhoons to grow and move, often over land. The winter storms that bring precipitation to the western U.S. originate over the North Pacific.
How does water cycle affect the weather?
The water cycle describes how water evaporates from the surface of the earth, rises into the atmosphere, cools and condenses into rain or snow in clouds, and falls again to the surface as precipitation. The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere is a significant aspect of the weather patterns on Earth.
How does the Coast affect weather?
The sea affects the climate of a place. Coastal areas are cooler and wetter than inland areas. Clouds form when warm air from inland areas meets cool air from the sea. In the summer, temperatures can be very hot and dry as moisture from the sea evaporates before it reaches the centre of the land mass.
How does the ocean affect climate and weather on land?
The oceans influence climate by absorbing solar radiation and releasing heat needed to drive the atmospheric circulation, by releasing aerosols that influence cloud cover, by emitting most of the water that falls on land as rain, by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it for years to millions of …
What are three factors that influence ocean currents?
Oceanic currents are driven by three main factors:
- The rise and fall of the tides. Tides create a current in the oceans, which are strongest near the shore, and in bays and estuaries along the coast.
- Wind. Winds drive currents that are at or near the ocean’s surface.
- Thermohaline circulation.
Is the water warmer on the east or west coast?
Did you know the ocean along the east coast of the US is warmer than the ocean along the west coast of the US? It’s true! There are large scale ocean currents that move water around in the oceans. In the northern hemisphere, they flow in a clockwise direction.
Which place is the coldest?
Where is the coldest place on Earth?
- 1) Eastern Antarctic Plateau, Antarctica (-94°C)
- 2) Vostok Station Antarctica (-89.2°C)
- 3) Amundsen-Scott Station, Antarctica (-82.8°C)
- 4) Denali, Alaska, United States of America (-73°C)
- 5) Klinck station, Greenland (-69.6°C)
- 6) Oymyakon, Siberia, Russia (-67.7°C)
How do changing sea levels affect the coastal ecosystems?
Sea level rise could erode and inundate coastal ecosystems and eliminate wetlands. Warmer and more acidic oceans are likely to disrupt coastal and marine ecosystems. Coastal development reduces the ability of natural systems to respond to climate changes.
What is the relationship between the ocean and climate?
The oceans also regulate the global climate; they mediate temperature and drive the weather, determining rainfall, droughts, and floods. They are also the world’s largest store of carbon, where an estimated 83% of the global carbon cycle is circulated through marine waters.
How does the water cycle affect the weather?
It also affects the wind. Hot and cold air are moved around due, in part, to the water cycle. Most of the water that makes up rain and snow evaporated from the ocean, and the water cycle is the means by which clouds form. Weather is influenced on many levels by precipitation in the atmosphere. The water cycle also affect the wind.
How does trade winds affect the western Pacific Ocean?
The trade winds, in piling up water in the Western Pacific, make a deep 450 feet (150 meter) warm layer in the west that pushes the thermocline down, while it rises in the east. The shallow 90 feet (30 meter) eastern thermocline allows the winds to pull up water from below, water that is generally much richer in nutrients than the surface layer.
Where does the water on the west coast come from?
The reason is the water along the west coast of the United States comes from the Gulf of Alaska and is much cooler than at the same latitude along the east coast where the Gulf Stream brings warmer tropical water north.
How does warm water affect a tropical storm?
Warm water near the surface rises, and as it cools, it discharges the moisture as rain and spirals down. This creates the precipitation energy and rotation of a tropical storm, and as the system travels through the ocean, it builds up more energy as it goes.