ABSTRACT
Much of this chapter is an exercise in exploration and discovery, because we now know that the oceans play a vital part in absorbing and emitting atmospheric gases, dissipating energy into the northern and southern latitudes, regulating biogeochemical cycles, and providing vast reservoirs of life in complex food chains (see also Chapter 8). The oceans are probably more important for regulating the biosphere than many realise, hence the need for continued scientific monitoring of the physics and chemistry of ocean-atmosphere relationships.
