ocean-atmosphere interaction

air temperature distribution

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  In climate: Circulation, currents, and ocean-atmosphere interaction

  The circulation of the ocean is a key factor in air temperature distribution. Ocean currents that have a northward or southward component, such as the warm Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic or the cold Peru (Humboldt) Current off South America, effectively exchange…

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atmospheric circulation

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  In Earth: The atmosphere of Earth

  The oceans are massive reservoirs of heat that act largely to smooth out variations in Earth’s global temperatures, but their slowly changing currents and temperatures also influence weather and climate, as in the El Niño/Southern Oscillation weather phenomenon (see climate: Circulation, currents, and ocean-atmosphere interaction;

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climatic change

geoengineering

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  In geoengineering

  …could address the problem of ocean acidification. Vast amounts of atmospheric CO₂ are taken up by the oceans and mixed with seawater to form carbonic acid (H₂CO₃). As the amount of carbonic acid rises in the ocean, it lowers the pH of seawater. Such ocean acidification could result in damage…

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hydrologic studies

• In hydrologic sciences: Study of the oceans and seas

  …interactions between the so-called World Ocean and the atmosphere. Chemical oceanography is the study of the composition of seawater and of the physical, biological, and chemical processes that govern changes in composition in time and space. Marine geology deals with the geologic evolution of the ocean basins, while biological oceanography…

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