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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Geography

Lecture - 46
Temperature Distribution in
Oceans
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Temperature Distribution in Oceans

Ocean Temperature:
❖ Temperature: It is the degree of hotness/coldness of any material/body such as solid, liquid, or gas. Ocean
temperature is measured by a Thermograph.
❖ Ocean Temperature: Ocean waters get heated up by solar energy just as land. The process of heating and
cooling of oceanic water is slower than land.
❖ It plays many important roles inside the ocean. Thus, it is very important to understand ocean temperatures. It
affects the:
➢ Marine Biodiversity: Plant and animal species require optimum temperature for survival. Thus, Ocean
temperature affects marine resources like fish, crabs, turtles, etc.
➢ Pressure Systems: Low-pressure and high-pressure systems are governed by ocean temperature. It also
leads to wind formation.
➢ Ocean Currents: It is governed by the ocean temperature and distributes heat throughout the globe.
➢ Climatic Phenomenon: These are also governed by the ocean temperature. Examples: El Nino, La Nina,
etc.
➢ Economy: Ocean temperature is a critical factor for the growth of the shipping industry.
Average Temperature of Oceans:

Oceans Average Temperature

1. Average Temperature of the Ocean 26.5°C

2. Indian Ocean 25°C

3. North West Pacific 32.2°C

4. Red Sea 37°C

5. Persian Gulf 34.5°C

6. Scotland Ocean 33.3°C

7. The Equatorial Pacific 26°C

The difference in temperature in different oceans is due to Insolation. There is high temperature in the Tropics
where the Sun is overhead, whereas there is low temperature in the Poles where the sun rays are oblique.
Diurnal Range of Temperature:
❖ It is the difference between the day and night temperature of a region.
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❖ It depends on many factors, such as large bodies of water, soil type and cover, wind, cloud cover/water
vapor, and moisture on the ground.
❖ The diurnal range is high when there is a clear sky (when there are no clouds).
❖ The density of the water of the ocean: If the density of water is high, then there will be a slow temperature
change. If the density of water is low, the temperature change will be fast.
Annual Range of Temperature:
❖ It is the maximum to minimum temperature of the ocean on a yearly basis.
❖ There are various factors affecting the annual range of temperature:
1. Size of the Sea: If there is a large volume of water, it will heat slowly and vice versa. Example:
Temperature range of Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
2. Enclosed Sea surrounded by land has a higher range of temperature than open sea due to less interaction
with oceans/sea (low distribution in the heat). Examples: Mediterranean sea, Red sea, etc.
Factors Affecting the Distribution of Temperature of Ocean Water:

❖ Latitude: The temperature of surface water decreases from the equator towards the poles because the amount
of insolation decreases poleward. At the tropics, the temperature is maximum and at the poles, the temperature
is minimum due to a reduction in the insolation.
❖ Unequal Distribution of Land and Water: The oceans in the Northern Hemisphere receive more heat due
to their contact with a larger extent of land than the oceans in the Southern Hemisphere.
❖ Nature of the Sea: The enclosed seas in the low latitudes record relatively higher temperatures than the
open seas; whereas the enclosed seas in the high latitudes have lower temperatures than the open seas.
❖ Prevailing Wind: 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 in the longitudinal variation in the
ocean temperature. Contrary to this, the onshore winds pile up warm water near the coast and this raises the
temperature.
➢ Trade winds push the wind towards the east coast or the west of the oceans. It pushes the warm waters
away from the west coast. This phenomenon of Easterlies is observed in the 5°-25° North and South
hemispheres.
➢ Westerlies push the warm water towards the west coast or the east of the oceans. It pulls warm waters
away from the east coast. This phenomenon of Easterlies is observed in the 35°-60° mid-latitudes.
➢ Ocean currents: Warm ocean currents raise the temperature in cold areas while cold currents decrease
the temperature in warm ocean areas. The Gulf Stream (warm current) raises the temperature near the
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eastern coast of North America and the West Coast of Europe while the Labrador Current (cold current)
lowers the temperature near the north-east coast of North America.
➢ Other factors can be cloudiness, rainfall, fog, etc. which affect the temperature.
❖ All these factors influence the temperature of the ocean currents locally.
Horizontal Distribution of Temperature:
❖ The average temperature of surface water of
the oceans is about 27°C and it gradually
decreases from the equator towards the poles.
❖ The rate of decrease of temperature with
increasing latitude is generally 0.5°C per latitude.
❖ The average temperature is around 22°C at 20°
latitudes, 14°C at 40° latitudes and 0°C near
poles.
❖ The oceans in the northern hemisphere record
relatively higher temperatures than in the southern
hemisphere.
❖ The highest temperature is not recorded at the
equator but slightly towards the north of it around 5° N latitude in places like the Western Pacific at 32.2°
C.
❖ The temperature of the northern hemisphere is higher than the southern hemisphere because more land
is available in the northern hemisphere.
❖ The average annual temperatures for the northern and southern hemispheres are around 19° C and 16°
C respectively.
❖ This variation is due to the unequal distribution of land and water in the northern and southern
hemispheres.
❖ In the northern hemisphere, in the North Atlantic
Ocean, there is a dominance of warm currents thus,
the temperature reduction is slow. Whereas in the
Southern Atlantic Ocean, the rate of temperature
reduction is relatively fast due to less dominance of
warm currents.
❖ On the sea surface temperature, there is a higher
temperature due to more exposure to insulation.
❖ The Coldest temperature is found in the polar
regions, that is 80 degrees in the northern
hemisphere and 75 degrees in the southern hemisphere.
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Vertical Distribution of Temperature:

❖ The temperature-depth profile for the
ocean water shows how the temperature
decreases with increasing depth.
❖ The profile shows a boundary region
between the surface waters of the ocean and
the deeper layers.
❖ The boundary usually begins around 100-400
m below the sea surface and extends several
hundred meters downward.
❖ This boundary region, from where there is a
rapid decrease in temperature, is called the
thermocline.
❖ About 90% of the total volume of water is
found below the thermocline in the deep
ocean. In this zone, temperatures approach 0° C.
❖ The photic zone extends up to 200 m where sunlight is visible and photosynthesis is possible.
❖ The temperature structure of oceans over middle and low latitudes can be described as a three-layer system
from the surface to the bottom.
➢ The first layer represents the top layer of warm oceanic water and it is about 500 m thick with
temperatures ranging between 20° and 25° C.
✓ This layer, within the tropical region,
is present throughout the year but in
mid-latitudes, it develops only during
the summer season.
➢ The second layer called the thermocline
layer lies below the first layer and is
characterized by a rapid decrease in
temperature with increasing depth. The
thermocline is 500 -1,000 m thick.
➢ The third layer is very cold and extends up
to the deep ocean floor.
❖ In the Arctic and Antarctic circles, the surface water temperatures are close to 0° C so the temperature change
with the depth is very slight.
❖ Here, only one layer of cold water exists, which extends from the surface to the deep ocean floor.
❖ It is a well-known fact that the maximum temperature of the oceans is always at their surfaces because they
directly receive the heat from the sun and the heat is transmitted to the lower sections of the oceans through
the process of convection.
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❖ It results in a decrease in temperature with increasing depth, but the rate of decrease is not uniform throughout.
❖ The temperature falls very rapidly up to the depth of 200 m and thereafter, the rate of decrease of temperature
is slowed down.
❖ Temperature decreases with an increase in ocean depth.
❖ The temperature reduction at the surface and depth is different.
➢ On the surface (from the equator to the poles) the temperature reduction is fast and at depth, it is slow.
➢ The rate of reduction at the equator is fast.
➢ The rate of reduction at poles is slow.
➢ On the eastern margin (tropics) of the continents, there is a sharp reduction.
➢ On the western side (tropics) of continents, there is a slow reduction.
➢ In the temperate zones, Westerlies pile up warm water on the west coast or west margin so there is a sharp
reduction in the temperature. On the eastern coast due to the availability of cold water, there will be a
slow reduction.

Different Zones of Oceans Characteristics

(Vertically)

Epilimnion ❖ It starts from the ocean surface up to 500 meters depth.

❖ It is the top layer which has a temperature of around 20-25 degrees Celsius.
❖ This is the photic zone where the sunlight penetration is maximum.
❖ Life is possible in this layer and algae perform photosynthesis in this zone.
❖ Temperature change is very slow or negligible in this zone.

Metalimnion ❖ It lies between 500 meters to 1000 meters.

❖ Rapid temperature reduction is seen here. (19-20 degrees Celsius)
❖ It is also known as the thermocline.

Hypolimnion ❖ It lies below 1000 meters.

❖ Availability of cold waters.
❖ It is predominant in the polar region.

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