The Atmosphere-Ocean System
Whether it is cold and snowy, raining cats and dogs, or clear and sunny, all of the weather you experience is because of two things on Earth: the atmosphere and the oceans. They work together as a system like your heart and blood work together in your body’s circulatory system. Their effects are felt globally and locally. They make warm tropical areas near the equator and cold icy areas near the poles. They make the waters off the Atlantic coast of Florida warm year round, the rainy forest of the Pacific Northwest, the dry deserts of Northern Africa, and the monsoonal rains of India.
This unit is all about the atmosphere and the oceans and how they work together and how they are connected. You will learn how each depends on the other and how the interactions between them are responsible for all of Earth’s weather.
