The interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere can be analyzed in two ways:
Energy metabolism;
Material exchange.
The energy interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere is diverse. The main thing is their interaction as opposing thermal systems.
The atmosphere, as a thermal system, receives thermal energy mainly by heating from below, from the earth's surface. The earth's surface as a whole absorbs about 80% of solar energy. Only about 20% of solar thermal energy is absorbed directly by air and clouds. Almost all the heat received by the lower layers of the atmosphere is latent heat of condensation contained in water vapor. Moreover, more than half of this heat comes from tropical regions. Most of the atmosphere has a low temperature and does not absorb thermal energy, but radiates it into outer space.
The ocean, as a thermal system, is designed in the opposite way. The upper layer of the ocean is a powerful absorber of thermal energy. The ocean surface absorbs 99.6% of the heat it receives and reflects only 0.4%. For sushi, the absorption rate is only 55-69%. Moreover, land occupies less than 1/3 of the earth's surface area. Consequently, the surface layer of ocean water is the main heat accumulator on Earth. In the underlying layers of water, on the contrary, thermal energy is dissipated. Since the heat capacity of air is much lower than that of water, when air comes into contact with the water surface, heat is released into the atmosphere and the temperature of the surface layer of the ocean decreases.
The latent energy entering the atmosphere with water vapor is partially converted into mechanical energy. It ensures the movement of air masses. The mechanism of this transformation is ineffective. Only 1-2% of thermal energy is converted into mechanical energy. The rest of the heat is spent to cover radiation losses into space. But this amount of energy is enough to move huge masses of air and ensure horizontal circulation in the surface layer of the ocean.
The interaction of the hydrosphere with the atmosphere is also accompanied by the exchange of substances. The most important substance supplied by the ocean to the atmosphere is water vapor (500 thousand km3 per year according to Kalinin). The supply of water vapor comes from:
giant vertical cumulonimbus clouds in the equatorial ocean. These clouds suck water vapor and the energy hidden in them into the atmosphere to a height of 10-15 km;
trade wind cumulus clouds of tropical zones. Moreover, these clouds create a moist convective layer, up to 3 km thick, gradually deepening along the air flow.
Huge masses of water vapor also enter the atmosphere from other climatic zones of the ocean, as well as as a result of mechanical evaporation. During the process of mechanical evaporation, water dust is carried away during strong winds into the lower layers of air.
Mechanical evaporation also releases salts into the atmosphere. The removal of salts into the atmosphere in a molecularly dispersed state also occurs during normal evaporation. The concentration of salts metamorphosed to a molecularly dispersed state in the surface layer of water can reach 0.5 mg per 1 liter of evaporating water. In this way, Na, Mg, Ca, K, Cl, CO3, SO4 ions enter the atmosphere. Later, together with rainwater, they return to the ocean or enter land.
The atmosphere, in turn, is the main supplier of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxygen to the ocean. Cold waters serve as the best solvents for carbon dioxide. Therefore, the maximum content of carbon dioxide is confined to the bottom layers of water in high latitudes. In the surface layer of water, carbon dioxide is intensively consumed by photosynthetic organisms. With depth, the content of dissolved carbon dioxide increases to approximately a depth of 200 m and then remains almost unchanged to the bottom. A smaller part of carbon dioxide comes as a result of oxidative processes during the decomposition of organic matter, as well as during underwater volcanic eruptions.
While the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere predominates, a certain amount of it is still released from the ocean into the air envelope. Intensively absorbed by cold waters at high latitudes, carbon dioxide in equatorial and tropical latitudes is released from the water into the atmosphere. In temperate zones, in winter there is intensive absorption of CO2 by ocean waters, and in summer, when the surface layer of water warms up, CO2 is released into the atmosphere. The concentration or deficiency of carbon dioxide in ocean surface waters significantly affects the entire hydrochemical situation.
Every year, about 2.5 ∙ 1014 g of carbon enters the ocean floor in the form of calcareous skeletons of marine organisms. As a result, the sedimentary rocks of the earth's crust accumulate several orders of magnitude more carbon than is contained in the atmosphere and hydrosphere. Thus, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is estimated at 6.3 ∙ 1017 g, in the hydrosphere 3.6 ∙ 1019. The concentration of carbon in the earth’s crust in the form of caustobiolites is estimated at 6.4 ∙ 1021 g, and in the form of limestones and dolomites 5 ∙ 1022 g The overwhelming majority of caustobioliths buried in the ground are of organic origin. Precipitation of carbonates occurs predominantly biologically. Consequently, their energy potential can be considered as resources of converted and conserved solar energy accumulated over billions of years of life on our planet. At the same time, the accumulation of caustobiolites and carbonate rocks in the sedimentary layer of the earth's crust underlying the oceans is the result of a powerful large-scale interaction of the atmosphere, biosphere, water shell and lithosphere.
The bulk of nitrogen entering sea waters is also of atmospheric origin. On average, 1 liter of water contains about 13 mg of dissolved nitrogen. A smaller portion of the nitrogen in the ocean is released from the decomposition of organic matter.
The direct source of oxygen in ocean water is also atmospheric oxygen. The ability of water to dissolve oxygen is quite high. As a result, the ocean is normally aerated to the greatest depths. But the air itself receives oxygen, which is released during the process of photosynthesis, from the surface layer of the ocean. According to A.P. Vinogradov, this process consumes only about 2% of incoming solar energy. But this energy is enough for photosynthesis in the surface layer to be the main factor in providing the atmosphere with oxygen.
The surface layer of water is oversaturated with oxygen, which is evident from the constant presence of gas bubbles on planktonic organisms. When breathing, plants consume about 15% of the oxygen they produce, some is consumed by other organisms, some leaves the surface layer with immersing masses of water during vertical mixing, but most of the oxygen is released into the atmosphere.
The amount of oxygen released during photosynthesis depends directly on the intensity of photosynthesis. Therefore, areas of intense photosynthesis are simultaneously areas of oversaturation with oxygen and intensive release of it into the atmosphere. In oceanic areas with low phytoplankton productivity, on the contrary, oxygen is absorbed from the atmosphere. During sea waves, especially during strong storms, the release of oxygen into the atmosphere increases significantly.
We know that the atmosphere greatly influences the behavior of the ocean. Air currents create water currents.
The largest currents in the ocean, such as the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio, arise as a result of the action of wind. The wind creates sea waves, and sea waves are one of the “charms” of the ocean. The presence of clouds, air temperature and the same wind determine the warming or cooling of ocean water. On the contrary, the ocean influences the atmosphere, primarily exerting a thermal effect on it. Since the heat capacity of water is many times greater than the heat capacity of air, it is enough, for example, to cool a 100-meter layer of air by 7 degrees so that the atmosphere warms up by an average of 6 degrees. The thermal effect of the ocean on the air is very great, and the influence of the ocean on the atmosphere due to the evaporation of moisture is also great. Moisture enters the air mainly from the oceans. 3.34X10 14 tons of water evaporate from the oceans per year, and 5 times less from land. Almost all moisture enters the air from the ocean; about 1/3 of the solar heat absorbed by the Earth is spent on evaporation. As a result of this interaction, long-term weather changes are formed.
The Earth's climate and climate fluctuations are also formed. For example, climate warming, observed in the first half of the 20th century, and now apparently ended, should find its explanation in the processes of interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere. Climate warming is one of the most pressing problems of modern geophysics.
Ocean-atmosphere interactions can be divided into two parts: 1) small-scale processes and 2) large-scale processes.
Small-scale processes are the formation of flows of heat, moisture and momentum on the sea surface separating the ocean and the atmosphere.
Storms play a very important role in their formation, during which the bulk of heat and moisture passes from the ocean to the atmosphere. No, considering storms, it is impossible to calculate just from average climate data how much heat and moisture enters the atmosphere and what the large-scale impact of heat and moisture that flows from the ocean into the atmosphere is.
Academician V.V. Shuleikin paid a lot of attention to these processes. In recent years, interesting work has been carried out by the American scientist J. Bjerknes, who established that the Little Ice Age, which took place in the 17th-19th centuries, was apparently explained by the fact that in the northeastern part of the Atlantic the water was abnormally cold, and in the Sargasso Sea is abnormally warm. Weakened atmospheric circulation was observed in winter. Delving into the mechanism of the ocean's influence on the atmosphere, we can find the key to explaining climate fluctuations, first with short periods - half a century, then several centuries, and in the end we will come to the reasons for the occurrence of ice ages.
It must be said that many hypotheses are currently being proposed about the occurrence of ice ages, but science has yet to solve this problem.
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The role of the ocean in the life of the planet is determined by the amazing properties of water. Water, unlike land, heats up slowly, but retains heat for a long time. The huge area of the ocean absorbs 2/3 of the heat coming to the Earth from the Sun. The ocean supplies moisture to the atmosphere.
The role of interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere. The surface of the ocean actively interacts with the atmosphere, exchanging moisture and heat with it. Cold air warms up over the warmer ocean surface and vice versa. Above the surface of the ocean, special air masses are formed - marine air masses.
Currents play a huge role in the interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere. From the equator to the poles they transfer much more heat than air masses. Powerful currents (Gulf Stream, etc.) carry warm water from tropical latitudes to temperate and subpolar latitudes. Therefore, in winter they have a warming effect on the coastal parts of the continents. For example, in the North Atlantic, the ocean surface gives off more heat to the atmosphere than it receives from heating there.
The water cycle. The role of the water cycle in the interaction between the ocean and land is also great. The ocean is the main source of moisture entering the atmosphere. Over the course of a year, a layer of water about a meter thick evaporates from the entire surface of the ocean. However, the ocean level does not decrease, since precipitation enters it from the atmosphere and water brought by rivers flows down. Thus, the ocean has a huge impact on the nature of the continents due to the movement of air masses and the water cycle.
Interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere and land The role of the ocean in the life of the planet is determined by the remarkable properties of water, which absorbs much more heat than the land surface. Water, unlike land, heats up slowly, but retains heat for a long time. The huge surface of the ocean absorbs 2/3 of the heat coming to the Earth from the Sun. The ten-meter layer of surface ocean water contains more heat than the entire atmosphere. Therefore, the ocean is called a heat storage device on the planet. It supplies moisture to the atmosphere and feeds the land with precipitation. Interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere and land Simultaneously with moisture, salts dissolved in the ocean enter the air through the process of evaporation and splashing of water under the influence of wind. These salts turn into aerosols (tiny particles suspended in the air) and determine the salt composition of atmospheric precipitation. Interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere and land The role of air masses in the interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere and continents is especially great. The surface of the ocean actively interacts with the atmosphere, exchanging heat and moisture with it. This exchange occurs as a result of the warming of cold air over the warm surface of the ocean and, conversely, the cooling of warm air over cooler waters. When water evaporates from the surface of the ocean, it cools, and the heat stored in the evaporated water is transferred to the lower layer of the atmosphere. The large supply of heat in ocean waters affects the properties of air masses. A special subtype is formed above its surface - marine air masses, which differ from continental ones (formed over land) by greater humidity and slight differences in temperature between seasons. Temperature differences over the surface of the ocean and land create differences in atmospheric pressure and cause the movement of air masses that transfer heat (cold) and moisture from the ocean to the continents. Therefore, a special oceanic (marine) climate is formed on the coasts. The most striking example of the interaction of the ocean with the continents is the monsoons. These seasonal winds form at the boundaries of large landmasses and oceans. (Explain their origin and influence on the climate of land and coastal ocean waters in different seasons of the year.) Interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere and land Currents play a huge role in the interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere and land. They enhance the exchange of heat and moisture between the ocean and land. From the equator to the poles they transfer much more heat than air masses. Powerful currents (Gulf Stream, Kuroshio, etc.) carry warm water from tropical latitudes to temperate and subpolar latitudes. Therefore, in winter, when the continents are cooled, air heated by warm currents transfers heat to land. At the same time, the air temperature rises in coastal and even parts of the continents quite distant from the ocean. For example, in the North Atlantic, the ocean surface gives off more heat to the atmosphere than it receives from heating by the sun's rays. Western winds carry this heat to Eurasia. Interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere and land The role of the water cycle in the interaction of the ocean and land is also great. The ocean is the main source of moisture entering the atmosphere. The water cycle is the basis for the formation of land waters, soil moisture, and the life of various organisms on land. Over the course of a year, a layer of water about a meter thick evaporates from the entire surface of the ocean. However, the ocean level does not decrease, since precipitation enters it from the atmosphere and water brought by rivers flows down. Interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere and land Thus, the World Ocean has a huge impact on the nature of the continents due to the movement of air masses and the water cycle. The ocean determines the appearance of the planet as a whole.
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