Ocean temperature can be vary from one place to another. There are some factors that might affect the high and low temperature of the ocean water. Maybe what you know is only several factors that you usually see, but actually, there are more factor that can affect the ocean water temperature. The changes of ocean water temperature can affect the marine live even though the changes for example only increasing for 1°F.
Why the increasing temperature can affect the marine life so much? Because there are some kind of marine living being that need some specific stable condition of environment for them to live, so if there is one or two factors that is changing, their life will be affected as well. The example of this is coral reef. To prevent such things to be happened you have to know about some characteristics of ocean temperature. And today I would like to share you with some of the characteristics.
See also:
- Causes of Rising Ocean Temperatures
- Global Warming Ocean Rise
- Impact of Global Warming on Marine Life
- Main Effects of Greenhouse
1. Sunlight
The existence of the sun is not only helping us to have the light resource. The energy coming up from the sun is not limited to its ability to shine but it also has a heat energy. That is why when you are exposed with sunlight with long period of time you will get sweat. Because of this heat energy, and because there is no coverage above the ocean, then it means that when the ocean is exposed with sunlight, the temperature can increase. Even the ocean has the natural ability to absorb the heat coming up from the sunlight and its environment up to 30% from the total amount of heat.
2. Density
The second one is density. When the density decrease the temperature will be increase. So if you go to a certain place and seeing the water is so dense it means the temperature of the place is high. But as the opposite, if a certain place has a low temperature it means the density is high or in another words you can say it less dense.
3. Depth
You know that the ocean is divided into several zones based on the depth. The deeper the zone it means the water will be colder because the sunlight can’t penetrate the water after it passes several depth. The zones are epipelagic zone, mesopelagic zone, bathypelagic zone, abyssopelagic zone, and hadalpelagic zone. So, the deepest part of the ocean will be the coldest place.
See also: Deepest Sea in the World – Ocean Layers
4. Climate
In the number four we have clinate as one characteristics of ocean temperature. Climate is also affecting the temperature . For example, during the winter the temperature will be cold and during the summer the temperature will be warmer. This is because the ocean water absorb the heat from the environment surround it.
See also: Climate of the Ocean
5. Pollution
Pollution has so many kind of form. There are water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, and sound pollution. The air pollution coming up from the factory around the beach coast or from the ship that is sail in the ocean are polluting the ocean and affecting the temperature. The factory and ship will release some chemical substance in form of gas such as carbon dioxide which will increase the temperature.
See also: Ocean Pollution – Prevention of Marine Pollution
6. Littering
Our bad habit which is littering any kind of garbage to the sea also can affect the temperature. When the garbage cover the ocean plant or even coral reef, these two marine living beings can’t do photosynthesis perfectly and can’t supply oxygen which can help to cooling down the heat.
See also: Causes of Plastic Pollution in the Ocean
7. Salinity
Just like the density, salinity will also affect the temperature. So when the temperature is high then the salinity is also high. If you want to do a quick test, you can just simply testing the ocean water by taste it a little bit. The more salty the water, it means that the temperature in that place is high.
See also: Salinity of Ocean Water – Use of Salinity in Ocean
8. Reforestation
Reforestation also become the characteristics of ocean temperature. This kind of action by planting plants can be done both in the ocean and land. By having more plants it means that the oxygen that can help to decrease the heat. Besides that with doing reforestation, we are helping our self protected from the damage that can be caused by sunlight because the amount of oxygen from the plants that we plant can prevent the existence of hole in our ozone layer.
See also: Ocean Plants – Plants in The Ocean Biome
9. Ocean current
The ocean water will not only stay in the place where it is belong. It will moves and the moves of ocean water is also known as ocean current. Because there is an ocean that has a high temperature of water and there is an ocean that has a low temperature of water, the current will help the ocean to have a balance temperature, so it will not be too hot or too cold.
See also: Movement of Ocean Water – Types of Ocean Current
10. Agricultural run off
Knowing that ocean is so big, and because of the water cycle system, many people usually will throw everything into the ocean. Taking an example of agricultural run off. The amount of pesticide that is drift into the ocean can change the pH of the ocean water. When the pH is changing and become lower that it used to be it can create the temperature become higher.
See also: Causes of Coral Bleaching – Ocean Coral Reef
11. Waste
Waste can have so many kind of form. And because it has so many kind of form, it means that waste it self has a different level of influence toward the ecosystem. Start from a small damage till a big damage can be caused by waste that is thrown to the ocean.
Many kind of waste nowadays contain dangerous chemical substance that can cause the changes of ocean water pH level and changing the temperature of the ocean water. Not only industrial waste but the waste from household also can give a negative impact toward the temperature changes in the ocean water. Because those waste contain chemical substance.
12. Sedimentation
The other characteristics of ocean temperature that you might not know before is sedimentation. Sedimentation can be formed from any kind of substance. What is bad from sedimentation, beside it can change the structure of ocean floor, it can also changing the temperature when it covers the plants or coral reefs. And if it is happened, then surely the plants and coral reef will die.
The existence of sedimentation actually can’t be happened only in a day but sadly our people has low awareness toward the sea and its environment which their act of littering make the existence of sedimentation to be happened since the garbage is being accumulated by the time goes by.
See also: Ocean Sediments
13. Continental effect
Last one for the characteristics of ocean temperature is the existence of continental effect. Continental effect is an effect or phenomenon where it can cause the temperature in the land to fluctuate. Basically, the ocean water temperature is stable but because it has the ability to absorb the heat then when the temperature surround it is changing to be hotter than the temperature of ocean water will be hotter too. Basically what we done to the land also can affect the environment and life of the deep ocean ecosystems .
See also: Types of Sea
So, that’s all about today’s article of characteristics of ocean temperature. Hopefully this article can help you to know more about the characteristics or factors that can affect the high and low of ocean water temperature. Thank you so much for being our loyal reader and follower, hopefully all articles that we provide can be useful and we will still have another informative article for you to come.