PPT: Ocean Temperature & Salinity | Geography for UPSC CSE PDF Download

 Page 1


OCEANOGRAPHY
Page 2


OCEANOGRAPHY
Temperature 
Distribution of 
Oceans
Page 3


OCEANOGRAPHY
Temperature 
Distribution of 
Oceans
Temperature
• Like land masses, ocean water varies in temperature 
from place to place both at the surface and at great 
depths. 
• Ocean water gets heated by solar energy just as land. 
The process of heating and cooling of the oceanic 
water is slower than land. 
• This is due to higher specific heat of water as 
compared to land as a result of which greater amount 
of energy is required to raise the temperature of 
water as compared to land.
Page 4


OCEANOGRAPHY
Temperature 
Distribution of 
Oceans
Temperature
• Like land masses, ocean water varies in temperature 
from place to place both at the surface and at great 
depths. 
• Ocean water gets heated by solar energy just as land. 
The process of heating and cooling of the oceanic 
water is slower than land. 
• This is due to higher specific heat of water as 
compared to land as a result of which greater amount 
of energy is required to raise the temperature of 
water as compared to land.
Factors affecting Temperature Distribution
Latitude
Unequal distribution of land and 
water
Prevailing winds
Ocean currentswinds
Page 5


OCEANOGRAPHY
Temperature 
Distribution of 
Oceans
Temperature
• Like land masses, ocean water varies in temperature 
from place to place both at the surface and at great 
depths. 
• Ocean water gets heated by solar energy just as land. 
The process of heating and cooling of the oceanic 
water is slower than land. 
• This is due to higher specific heat of water as 
compared to land as a result of which greater amount 
of energy is required to raise the temperature of 
water as compared to land.
Factors affecting Temperature Distribution
Latitude
Unequal distribution of land and 
water
Prevailing winds
Ocean currentswinds
1. Latitude: The temperature of surface water decreases from the 
equator towards the poles because the amount of insolation 
decreases poleward.
2. Unequal distribution of land and water: The oceans in the 
northern hemisphere receive more heat due to their contact with 
larger extent of land than the oceans in the southern hemisphere.
3. Prevailing winds: The winds blowing from the land towards 
the oceans drive warm surface water away from the coast resulting 
in the upwelling of cold water from below. It results into the 
longitudinal variation in the temperature. Contrary to this, the 
onshore winds pile up warm water near the coast and this raises 
the temperature.
4. Ocean currents: Warm ocean currents raise the temperature 
in cold areas while the cold currents decrease the temperature in 
warm ocean areas.