ABSTRACT
The remaining stage of the hydrologic cycle consists of the circulation of water in the oceans. The oceans resemble the atmosphere in consisting of a fluid, containing heat, being subject to convection and horizontal circulation, flowing under the influence of slope and pressure difference, and carrying contaminants. The oceans' temperature is a major factor in climate change. Firstly, the water's enormous thermal capacity slows up any sudden alteration of temperature. Secondly, the oceans dissolve much of the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide, which governs the greenhouse effect. The total salt concentration (or salinity) affects climates by altering the density of the sea, thus changing the pattern of pressures which govern the ocean currents and hence the transport of heat around the world. A third factor is the 'Coriolis effect ', the 'apparent deflection of moving objects, due to the observer being on a rotating Earth', named after Gaspard de Coriolis.
