The World Ocean’s influence on the atmosphere and land
The World Ocean is in constant interaction with the atmosphere and land, and together they form the “ocean – atmosphere – land” system, in which matter and energy are exchanged and the main driving force is solar energy. The ocean absorbs most of the Sun’s heat reaching the Earth’s surface (70 % according to the textbook) and acts as a heat “accumulator”: it warms the atmosphere, supplies it with moisture as vapour and brings rain to the land. Air masses formed over the ocean are called maritime and those formed over land continental; maritime masses are humid and continental ones dry. The water cycle — evaporation, cloud, rain, return to the ocean through rivers — runs through this system. Warm and cold currents carry heat and cold over long distances. Typhoons and storms form over the warmed ocean at about 5–20° latitude in both hemispheres. People have lived on favourable coasts since ancient times: according to the textbook 27 % of the population live within 50 km of the coast; according to UN data about 40 % live within 100 km of the coast.
“Water cycle game”: students play water drops moving through “ocean”, “cloud”, “mountain” and “river” stations, saying what happens at each.