Ocean Currents

Ocean waves crashing on beach (stock image). | Credit: © Iakov Kalinin / stock.adobe.com

What effect do oceans have on the global climate?

53 Responses

  1. Kael says:

    Well, I don’t know too much, but on bodies of water, there is vast open space for wind to stir up. The wind has much more space so it can blow faster, causing it to be colder near water. Also, when water currents with different temperatures mix, it can cause big storms like hurricanes, and tropical storms.

    • Kael says:

      Ocean currents transfer heat all around the world. Without them, the world would be a lot colder. The water will cool down near the poles, and come towards the equator and warm up, and eventually go back to the poles. It’s a cycle that brings heat around the world. They also can affect the climate in other ways, such as when colder water and hotter water mix, it can cause big storms like hurricanes, which is why hurricanes form southeast of Florida all the time. So basically, they can heat up a place and can cause storms.

  2. dominick says:

    They absorb carbon in the atmosphere helping cool down the planet and stop a runaway greenhouse effect. They also move the warmer water towards the poles cooling it down and cooling the air above it helping decrease temperatures away from the equator

    • dominick says:

      They absorb carbon in the atmosphere helping cool down the planet and stop a runaway greenhouse effect. They also move the warmer water towards the poles cooling it down.Also cooling the air above it helping decrease temperatures away from the equator.

  3. Laurel says:

    Since the ocean is so big it probably moves a lot of air. So when you’re on the shore of the ocean the water is normally colder, but when you’re further out it might be warmer.

    • Laurel says:

      The ocean currents do affect the climate. When the currents are by the equator, they are warmer, and that makes the weather warmer around them. If they’re by the poles the weather will be colder. So it mostly depends on the latitude of where the parts of the ocean are. Wind also has a part of it because of the Coriolis effect, it deflects prevailing winds clockwise in the North and counterclockwise in the South, and that deflects the surface currents.

      • Laurel says:

        The ocean currents do affect the climate. The currents by the equator will transfer warm water, and the currents by the poles will transfer cold water. So it mostly depends on the latitude of where the parts of the ocean are. Wind also has a part of it because of the Coriolis effect, it deflects prevailing winds clockwise in the North and counterclockwise in the South, and that deflects the surface currents.

  4. xander says:

    I think the moon gives it some effect to make it have tides. The wind and warmth or coldness of the water affect the direction of the water and the temperature. The degrees of where the bodies of water are might affect it.

  5. Iris says:

    Oct. 14, 2019
    Ocean currents. Hmmm. I haven’t learned much about this in the past but I am going to take a couple wild guesses. I am thinking that it may have something to do with wind because there is a big open space for wind to stir up the ocean. It could also be related to the coriolis effect because that may interfere with the direction of the currents. My last stab at it would be that it is related to the moon because that influences the tides. Maybe it’s all three, maybe it’s just one, maybe it’s not even on my list. I am curious to learn more about this.

    -Iris ∞

    • Iris says:

      Oct. 25, 2019
      Okay. Ocean currents. Ocean currents are caused by tidal currents, which are currents caused by the tides, winds and the Coriolis effect. They keep a climate stable and control some precipitation in an area. The temperature of an ocean current will affect the temperature of the land nearest to it, and warmer ocean currents cause more precipitation than cold currents. The warmer ocean currents come from nearer to the equator and the cooler currents come from the poles.

      -Iris ∞

  6. Barbara says:

    I don’t know much about how the ocean currents work or what effect they have on the global climate, but what I do know is that temperatures tend to be colder near open bodies of water. I believe this is because there are huge empty spaces where the wind likes to go and spin around in. This must cause the temperature to rise and maybe the way the wind moves around in the open space causes ocean currents. Another thought on the ocean currents could happen because of the colder water and the warmer water cycling somehow throughout the ocean, creating currents.

    • Barbara says:

      Global Climate is hugely affected by the Ocean. If warmer ocean currents are cycling through the area, the less dense air makes more precipitation. If the currents are cool then the more denser air will create less precipitation. The temperature of the ocean current can also affect the temperature on land. The latitude also affects the temperature. If it’s closer to the equator then typically the warmer, and the farther away towards the poles is typically colder. These temperatures also have to do with the temperatures of ocean currents, which ties back to the amount of precipitation with global climate.

  7. Mandi says:

    Maybe the ocean is warmer in some places where it shouldn’t be and making some places too warm. The ocean moves a lot so i’m guessing that warm water moves around the world making some places to warm.

  8. lucas says:

    How water currents work. The wind blows over the water moving the water everywhere. If there is another lake pond or swamp connecting that will be blown around too.

  9. logan says:

    I am guessing that the moon has something to do with it and that the heat does have something with it too. I think the temperature makes the water cold and warm and it makes currents.

  10. mam says:

    I think that the Ocean has an effect on the global climate because the oceans can have storms and have hurricanes. The wind is part of what makes up the hurricanes and so then the hurricanes is what has an effect on the global climate.

  11. Alexis says:

    The wind might have something to do with ocean currents because there is space for wind to blow and make the ocean colder. The less wind there is the heat rises and makes the air warmer. If warm air and cold air gets mixed it can cause it to rain or even storm.

    • Alexis says:

      Ocean currents affect global climate because in the ocean when there is wind and its windy, it makes the ocean colder and with less wind, the heat rises and makes warm air. The ocean currents also change depending on the latitudes. When the Ocean currents are by the equator it gets warmer. When they’re by the poles they start to get colder.

  12. Aaliyah || Nosh says:

    Ocean Currents:
    ( Alright since I didn’t do it on a doc. I’m going to try and remember what I all said. Won’t be word for word but I’ll try my best. )
    So the body of water next to Florida is warmer than the water next to California. The huge mass of water probably causes the majority of tropical storms. Tsunamis and Hurricanes and a few more that I probably.. can’t remember at the moment. The ocean also covers around 70% of the world and most likely also causes seasonal storms. Like winter storms, rainstorms, thunderstorms, etc.

  13. Kirsten says:

    Oceans have an effect on the global climate by how the ocean rotates and how cold or warm the ocean is. This happens because of condensation I think because it makes the water in the ocean rise up in the air. Also when the water rises up we have water in the air so it makes sense why the Ocean would affect global climate. and how it dose.

    • Kirsten says:

      Oceans have a big effect on the global climate by the way the ocean rotates and the movement of the water. Energy transfer plays a big role in the way ocean currents by moving heat around the globe. Ocean currents shape how the climate is around the globe. The ocean current is when the motion of water is moving and having an effect on the climate.

  14. Wayne S. says:

    How it affects global climate is all the cold air is somewhat in the middle when it whirlpools sort and it then kinda releases as a hurricane of sort

    • Wayne S. says:

      he Sun releases radiation onto the Earth to where some of the radiation will be blocked out due to clouds in the sky and such and it sort of heats up the Earth and the oceans and such. The way it changes climate and all that is how the water will move in a sort of zig-zag kind of way and will heat up some places with the water like New York kind of, warm water is coming up from the southern hemisphere and is being pushed up into NY and heats it up. Or something along the lines of that.

  15. Alexis D. says:

    Oceans are large bodies of water that give off wind that makes the climate cooler near the water, and if you are far from the water is warmer because you farther from the water. So the closer you are to sea level the cooler and the higher you are from sea level the warmer you are.

  16. Hattie says:

    I think that global warming somehow affects ocean currents. Temperatures can be cooler in some areas of the ocean, and warmer in others. I don’t know much about this topic, but this is what I could come up with.

    • Hattie says:

      Energy transfer heats up ocean currents and causing the water surrounding it to heat up in some areas, and not in others. Ocean currents are basically where the water is going and how the water is having some kind of an effect on climate.

  17. Jada says:

    Uhhh, I don’t really know but whenever you are around oceans it’s pretty cold. Plus Earth is mostly oceans so it must keep the Earth cool or something.

    • Jada says:

      Ocean currents play a big role in climate. Near the equator, the water is warmer and near the poles, the water is cooler. The warmer water near the equator gets circulated to the poles warming it up and the colder water in the poles goes to the equator cooling it down. The water keeps circling causing the climate to be regulated more.

  18. Sami says:

    I’m not sure but maybe it has something to do with the cold water mixing with warm water, and there is an uneven amount somehow. Warmer water causes warmer temperature and cooler water causes cooler temperatures.

    • sami says:

      The ocean currents transfer heat throughout the world. The warm water goes to the poles where the cold water is and then goes in a circular rotation around the earth’s oceans. This helps the unevenness of solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface

  19. Diane says:

    I don’t really know but whenever you are around oceans it’s pretty cold. The wind and warmth or coldness of the water affect the direction of the water and the temperature.

    • Diane says:

      Some ocean currents are warm. Some ocean currents are cold. The closer to the equator the warmer the ocean currents will get. The farther away from the equator the colder the ocean currents will get.

  20. Mason says:

    Oceans have an effect on global climate because when the ocean water rises it mixes the cold water with warm water and it makes a whirlpool. And when the whirlpool mixes back with the rest of the ocean water and it might make a hurricane.

    • mason says:

      Ocean currents will bring the warm water from the equator and bring it to the poles and cool that water down. The water from the poles will go to the equator and the equator will warm up the water. And the reason it does that is so that the equator water won’t boil and become too hot and the water at the poles won’t freeze all the way.

  21. Cecelia says:

    I don’t know much about the ocean and how it can affect global climate but maybe it has something to with the gigantic amount of space there is on the ocean. Maybe because there is a lot of open and free space in the ocean there is more wind flow, I also know that near bodies of water the temperature tends to be lower than not around lakes, oceans, rivers etc… Also, maybe because of this wind in the empty space, that wind causes ocean currents and also cools down the global temperature! But this is just a guess that makes sense in my head.

    • Cecelia says:

      Ocean currents have big roles when it comes to climate. Oceans transfer warm air or cool air all over the world. The climate is affected by the oceans, depending on where the ocean current is coming from. So if the ocean currents are coming from the equator and going towards southern Africa, the climate in Africa would be warmer, if it is coming from the North Pole and going towards Greenland, it will be a colder climate. The ocean takes up about 72% of the Earth’s surface, if we didn’t have ocean currents to transfer heat, our earth would be so much colder.

  22. olive says:

    The cold air hits the water making it cool and since it is so big it holds the coldness. Then it warms up in the sun and that’s why it’s rainy by the equator. And that’s how water affects the global climate.

    • oliver says:

      Water by the equator gets heated up and travels to (if in the northern hemisphere) to the north pole and (if in the southern hemisphere) to the south pole. And than it comes back to the equator and it repeats. That makes the places near the equator warmer than places near the poles.

  23. caitlin says:

    I believe that the ocean currents happen because of the gravitational pull of the moon on the earth. Which make the huge waves and rip tides.

  24. Matt says:

    If you walk down to Lake Superior there is a noticeable difference in the temperature. It tends to be colder down by big lakes and oceans. I think that is because of all the space there is. Wind makes waves when there are big open bodies of water like that If there were trees by a small body of water than the waves would be very small. Hurricanes are formed by air goes from all directions to a low-pressure region. Hurricanes can only happen on big bodies of water. That is what I think.

    • Matt says:

      Ocean currents can bring warm water to the North and South poles and all around. The warm water affects the climate around it. ocean currents can also transfer cold water. Ocean currents have warm water because they come from the equator where the water is warm. That is what I know.

  25. cameron says:

    So with oceans, I fell like the water is pushed towards the middle of the ocean. And the colder water is near the shoreline as the water gets warmer the water spreads out I think. As for the winds, I think the wind kinda bounces of the water. And if that’s not right then I also think the moon could have something to do with is with it and how the ocean affects the waves. It could also be that the winds could blow towards the poles and the water is like carrying the winds to the north and south pole and that makes the shorelines colder

  26. Caiden says:

    The oceans affect the weather by cooling off the land next to the oceans. The Westerlies blow over the Pacific Ocean and pick up momentum and moisture. This makes the weather windier and wetter.

    • Caiden says:

      The warmer the ocean currents the hotter the place will be because the warm air will flow on to the land warming it up. The colder the ocean currents the colder the land will be. the colder the ocean currents the drier the climate will be.

  27. Lukas says:

    Ocean currents carry massive amounts of energy around the world every day, this happens because cold and warm waters are alway trying to even out in density, which causes the currents. Cold currents come from the poles, and warm currents come from the equator. Global climate is affected by these currents when warm water and cold water run on the sides of continents. when cold water, with low rising moisture, goes on the side of a continent, because of the little moisture rising, there will be little moisture in the air, and little, if any precipitation, these areas can be hot or cold. The opposite is also true, where when warm water rushes by the side of a continent, because of the surplus of rising moisture, the area with be moister and humid, causing more precipitation.

  28. lilianna says:

    Ocean currents affect climate by determining if it’s cold or not based on the temperature of the current and where the current is coming from. The ocean currents also affect if an area is dry or not, and the moisture in the air determining the amount and type of precipitation the place will receive.

  29. lucas says:

    The way ocean currents work is it’s like a bunch of little rivers that flow everywhere. The winds help push the water where it’s going and it just continually flows around the world. When waves hit the shore, they release whatever kind of air, cold or hot, out into the land.

  30. Mandi says:

    The ocean gets warmer in some places and because of ocean currants the warm water moves around the globe. Then the warm water moves to colder places warming it. The warm water is effecting some places with cooler climates.

  31. xander says:

    When the is water is warm it affects the weather. If the water is hot or cold it can affect the temperature. If the water is hot and cold outside in a big ocean the water can evaporate and it can start a hurricane. The water is cooler when it’s closer to the poles and warmer when it gets close to the equator.

  32. M.A.M says:

    The Ocean Currents effect climate because the Ocean Currents have different types of temperatures and is moving around. The Ocean Currents is what causes precipitation and the different types of weather. Like when it rains or snows it is because of the Ocean Currents moving.

  33. Cy says:

    The effect oceans have on climate is that the currents are multiple different temperatures, making the water move around. Then the warm water moves to the cold water and warms it up. When there is more warm water, making the air warmer, it tends to rain more because warm air holds more moisture.

  34. Jeffrey says:

    Oceans are a part of the water cycle effecting where plants can grow and live but also from what types of plants can live, rain from will also affect climate over time from the water. Oceans will also affect the temperature from bringing the warmer water from the equator to either lower or higher parts of the earth making it warmer until the ocean water will lose its heat. Oceans can also affect terrain near the water near the equator where it is warmer and makes the water and air more damp from evaporation.

  35. Benjamin says:

    Ocean currents transfer heat without it heat the earth will be colder, the north pole and south pole will cool down the waters and will get hotter around the equator than around world eventually going back to the poles.
    they can affect climate like when hot and cold water meets or chase around they create hurricanes and tornados.

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