The Role of Ocean Current in Regulating Global Climate
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(2022), one way the world's ocean influences weather and climate is by helping to keep our planet warm. The ocean absorbs the bulk of the Sun's light, particularly in tropical areas around the equator, where the ocean behaves as a vast, heat-retaining solar panel. Ocean currents move warm water and precipitation from the equator to the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics, much like a conveyor belt. Thus, ocean currents assist to manage global climate by compensating for the unequal distribution of solar energy reaching the Earth's surface. Regional temperatures would be more severe without ocean currents — scorching hot at the equator and cold near the poles — and considerably less of Earth's land would be livable. Ocean water is always in motion, and not just in the shape of waves and tides. Ocean currents move like huge rivers, following regular patterns. Some ocean currents move near the surface, while others flow deep within the ocean. Some currents travel small distances, while others traverse whole ocean basins or even round the world (National Geographic Society, 2023). Ocean currents are a primary influence of meteorological and climatological conditions as they occur on land. From assisting in global warming to affecting precipitation patterns throughout the world, to playing an important part in the global carbon cycle. Life as we know and live it would not be the same without the influence of the currents, and if we change them through our own arrogance, the long-term consequences might be disastrous (Greentumble, 2018). 2.4. The Tidal Cycles
According to National Science Foundation (2023), a tidal cycle consists
of one high tide followed by a low tide. The flow of water on the Earth's surface caused by tides is hampered by land masses. As a result, the ensuing tidal cycle or pattern is determined by geographic location. Along the Earth's major shorelines, three primary tidal patterns exist. Most locations get two high tides and two low tides every day. A semi-daily or semidiurnal tide occurs when the two highs and lows are almost the same height. A mixed semidiurnal tide occurs when the heights of the high and low tides vary. Some places, like the Gulf of Mexico, only have one high and one low tide every day. This is known as a diurnal tide. The West Coast of the United States has mixed semidiurnal tides, whereas the East Coast has a semidiurnal pattern (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2023). REFERENCES
Greentumble (2018). How do ocean currents affect climate?