1.4.1. Factors Affecting Temperature Distribution

The factors which affect the distribution of temperature of ocean water are:

1. Latitude: The temperature of surface water decreases from the equator towards the poles because the amount of insolation decreases poleward.

2. Unequal distribution of land and water: The oceans in the northern hemisphere receive more heat due to their contact with larger extent of land than the oceans in the southern hemisphere.

3. Prevailing winds: 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 into the longitudinal variation in the temperature. Contrary to this, the onshore winds pile up warm water near the coast and this raises the temperature.

4. Ocean currents: Warm ocean currents raise the temperature in cold areas while the cold currents decrease the temperature in warm ocean areas.

All these factors influence the temperature of the ocean currents locally. The enclosed seas in the low latitudes record relatively higher temperature than the open seas; whereas the enclosed seas in the high latitudes have lower temperature than the open seas.