The Hydrologic Cycle is also known as the water cycle of the world. It’s responsible for dispersing water to the regions in the world. Since the ocean has the most area covered in water, it is crucial in affecting the cycle.
These 17 Importance of Ocean in Hydrologic Cycle will tell you the reasons why the ocean has a big role in the process. The ocean impacts the Hydrologic Cycle in a complex system which causes water to fall on earth in various forms.
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1. Holds Most of the World’s Water
The ocean holds most of the world’s water since it has around 97% of it on Earth. Without the ocean, the whole process of the hydrological cycle would not be able to take place as it is now. There could potentially be less evaporation of water molecules and percipitation that can happen on the planet.
2. High Percentage of Precipitation
Besides holding the most amount of water, the ocean also has high percentage of precipitation. This is important because that means that the ocean is the crucial place where water can fall down to the earth again. The water is reused for the hydrological cycle to occur.
3. Global Evaporation
86% of the world’s evaporation happen in the ocean as well. This is where all the water molecules condense and then transported into the land. With the presence of the ocean, the world has consistent rainfall, snow, hail and drizzle.
4. Reduces Level of Carbon Dioxide
The evaporation that happens during the hydrologic cycle can make the ocean surface become cooler. This enables the ocean to absorb more carbon dioxide or any toxic gases in the atmosphere. In turn, the ocean helps to maintain the climate system that can disrupt the hydrologic cycle process.
Read more: Causes of Ocean Destruction
5. Determines Precipitation
The ocean has a power to determine the intensity of precipitation over a certain area in the world. This is due to the water component that they have. But other factors can also make the contributions. The pattern of the hydrologic cycle is heavily influenced by the condition of the ocean.
6. Container for Water Runoff
It’s important to remember that not all water that falls on land will evaporate back into the atmosphere. Most of them actually stay on the surface of the land. The water will run into other vessels of water such as rivers or streams. The ocean will then receive all the water runoff which will be used again in the water cycle.
7. Determines Weather Patterns
The ocean salinity can determine the weather patterns of the world. Changes that happen to the salinity in the ocean can cause a major shift in the weather that we know today. Salinity can either cause heavy rainfall over a certain area or cause some life threatening droughts.
See also: Factors Affecting Ocean Salinity
8. Predicts Future Climate
Scientists can make predictions of the future climate through the hydrologic cycle and the ocean. The many changes that are happening to the ocean will also cause changes in the cycle. The degradation of the ocean environment could mean an unbearable climate in the long run. This is because the hydrologic cycle is affected.
9. Create Models
As the ocean gives more information to researchers, they can build better models that can imitate the hydrologic cycle. This will give more insight about the process as well as making predictions about the future. Researches can make an estimate about the impact of the water cycle in a certain area.
10. Fresh Water Source
Sea ice contains fresh water. Though they may not be much in their volume, their effect is still significant to the hydrologic cycle. As the ocean holds these reservoirs of fresh water, the water may become important in the future and affect the working of the water cycle. They may increase the rate of precipitation that happens in the world.
Read also: Importance of Southern Ocean
11. Water Quality
The water quality in the ocean can also affect the hydrologic cycle. If the condition of the ocean water is poor then the cycle may slow down. The end result could be a precipitation that causes more damage to land and the ocean itself.
12. Transporting Ocean Water
The ocean currents in the ocean are responsible for transporting water across all regions of the world. This will contribute to the volume of water a certain area will receive. As a result, the precipitation in the hydrologic cycle may increase.
See more: Functions of Ocean Current
13. Exposure to Sun
Since the ocean is the largest body of water, it is responsible of exposing most of the surface layer to the sun. Evaporation is affected by the intensity of the sun at a period of time. Other places may have less exposure to the sun which decreases the potential for precipitation.
14. Shaping the Earth’s Feature
Through the hydrologic cycle, the ocean can reshape the earth’s feature. The ocean may experience sedimentation from the water runoff from land. More sands could come into contact with the ocean. This will reshape the structure of the ocean floor.
Read more: Geological Characteristics of the Ocean
15. Minimises Pollutants
The ocean can minimise the amount of pollutants that can get involved in the hydrologic cycle. As long as the health of the ocean is monitored, there is less chance of toxicity that can occur in the ocean water. It’s important to keep up with the health of the marine creatures that live in the ocean as well.
Also see: Importance of Keeping the Ocean Clean
16. Gives Life to Earth
Many lives on earth depend on the ocean through various ways. The hydrologic cycle is one of them. The cycle carries most of the ocean water and distribute them all over the world. This gives necessary replenishment to areas.
17. Ground for Research
There is still a lot to know about the hydrologic cycle. Researchers aim to carry out more experiments and studies to get a better understanding of it. The result of the research can lead to more discoveries. It may even answer questions that are significant to the relationship of the water cycle and the ocean.
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The Hydrologic Cycle will be very different if the ocean doesn’t exist. Many lives would be lost and the earth might be an inhabitable place to live in.