4: The Global Thermostat. The Ocean-Atmosphere-Climate Connection
- Page ID
- 14939
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- 4.1: Lesson 4 Introduction
- In this lesson, we have the ambitious task of tackling the heat distribution on Earth and it's role in dictating ocean circulation, atmospheric circulation, and Earth's climate.
- 4.2: Overview, Solar Energy, Pressure, and Wind Belts
- The connections between atmospheric circulation, ocean currents and Earth's climate are both simple and wonderfully complex.
- 4.3: Redistributing Earth's Heat, Wind, and Currents
- Earth's heat budget exhibits important variations with latitude.
- 4.4: Coriolis and Ekman Transport
- For large scale winds and ocean currents, the Coriolis effect is an important consideration because it changes the net direction of heat transport.
- 4.5: Ocean Circulation: Surface Water and Deep Water
- Recall from Lesson 3 that water density increases with increasing salinity and decreasing temperature.
- 4.6: Gyres and Surface Currents
- The global pattern of winds together with the Coriolis Effect and Ekman Transport produce large-scale currents in the world ocean.
- 4.7: Additional Resources
- Want to explore these topics more? Here are some resources that might interest you.
- 4.8: Summary and Final Tasks
- Reminder - Complete all of the lesson tasks!
Thumbnail: Broecker, 1991, in Climate change 1995, Impacts, adaptations and mitigation of climate change, UNEP and WMO, Cambridge press university, 1996