The distance from the equator affects the climate of a place. At the poles, energy from the sun reaches the Earth's surface at lower angles and passes through a thicker layer of atmosphere than at the equator.
This means the climate is cooler further from the Equator. The poles also experience the greatest difference between summer and winter day lengths: in the summer there is a period when the sun does not set at the poles; conversely the poles also experience a period of total darkness during winter.
In contrast, daylength varies little at the equator. The warmer water pumps energy and moisture into the atmosphere, altering global wind and rainfall patterns. The phenomenon has caused tornadoes in Florida, smog in Indonesia, and forest fires in Brazil. The factors above affect the climate naturally.
However, we cannot forget the influence of humans on our climate. Early on in human history our effect on the climate would have been quite small. However, as populations increased and trees were cut down in large numbers, so our influence on the climate increased.
Trees take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. A reduction in trees will therefore have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The Industrial Revolution, starting at the end of the 19th Century, has had a huge effect on climate. The invention of the motor engine and the increased burning of fossil fuels have increased the amount of carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas - more on that later in the atmosphere. The number of trees being cut down has also increased, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that is taken up by forests.
E-mail ECN Full contact details Skip to navigation Search Site only in current section. Advanced Search…. Personal tools Log in. Evidence for policy. Our data. About ECN. This illustration shows the major ocean currents throughout the globe. Ocean currents act as conveyer belts of warm and cold water, sending heat toward the polar regions and helping tropical areas cool off, thus influencing both weather and climate.
Download image jpg, KB. The majority of radiation from the sun is absorbed by the ocean, particularly in tropical waters around the equator, where the ocean acts like a massive, heat-retaining solar panel. Land areas also absorb some sunlight, and the atmosphere helps to retain heat that would otherwise quickly radiate into space after sunset.
Large bodies of water change temperature slower than land masses. Land masses near large bodies of water, especially oceans, change temperature as the oceans change temperature: slower and with less extreme fluctuations than land masses farther away.
Ocean currents like the Gulf Stream carry heat from the tropics, affecting the climate of areas away from the tropics. Warm water also increases evaporation and ultimately precipitation. Water has a much greater ability to store heat than many other substances. On average, the amount of energy needed to increase the temperature of a body of water by 1 degree Celsius a span of 1.
Consequently, large bodies of water heat up and cool down more slowly than adjacent land masses, so their temperature changes less dramatically with the seasons.
In regions north or south of the tropics, large bodies of water like the ocean release heat during the winter and soak it up during the summer, keeping temperatures within a more moderate range.
In other words, the ocean acts a little like a heat sink -- and a very effective one at that.
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