CAUSES OF CHANGE

Direct Effect of Oceans on Climate

The atmospheric circulation (winds) and ocean currents carry heat from the tropics toward the poles. Many processes can alter these circulation patterns, changing the climate regionally or even over the whole world.

Interactions between the ocean and atmosphere can also produce phenomena such as El Niño, which tends to recur every two to six years. Changes in deep ocean circulation can produce longer-lived climate variations that endure for decades to centuries. The ice age cycles may have been influenced by changes in ocean circulation arising from changes in the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

Ocean Circulation Cold water sinks at the poles and travels throughout the world's oceans. It gradually warms, becomes less dense and mixes to the surface. It then moves back towards the poles carrying heat absorbed along the way. Then the cycle continues. Without this cycle the poles would be colder and the equator would be warmer.

Effect Of Oceans On Greenhouse Gases

The oceans play an important role in determining the atmospheric concentration of CO₂. CO₂ gas in the atmosphere and CO₂ dissolved in the ocean surface reach a balance. Changes in ocean circulation, chemistry, and biology have shifted this balance in the past. Such changes may affect climate by slowly moving CO₂ into or out of the atmosphere.

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