Global Climates Are Influenced by Waters High Specific Heat

GLOBAL CLIMATES ARE INFLUENCED BY WATER S HIGH SPECIFIC HEAT 

The winds in the latitudes of North America are westerly. On the western coast of the continent, therefore, air moves from the Pacific Ocean to the land. Because of water s high specific heat, ocean temperatures do not vary much 

Many ocean currents, shown in blue, distribute heat from the warmer equatorial regions to the colder polar regions. 

Islands and peninsulas, because they are more or less surrounded by water, do not have the extremes of temperatures observed in the interior of a continent. The high summer temperatures and low winter temperatures common in Manitoba and the Dakotas, for example, are largely due to the absence of large bodies of water. Europeans, islanders, and people living near ocean air currents should be glad that water has such a high specific heat. 

Which has a higher specific heat, water or sand  

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