How the Motions of Water Influence the Earth

            Two great oceans: an ocean of air and an ocean of water bound our planet, the Earth. They are driven by the energy of the sun and the gravity of the Earth creating constant motion and their motions are interconnected to each other. Like the winds which give energy to the sea surface forming ocean currents.

            But here in my blog, I will focus only on the motions of water. The motions of water on Earth are ocean currents, waves, tides, and tsunamis. They hugely affect our planet because the Earth is comprised mainly of water. So how do these motions of water affect our planet?

OCEAN CURRENT

            The sun warms ocean layers in certain areas like at the equator creating ocean current. The warmer water expands slightly, creating a slope, and the warm water runs downhill toward the poles. The following are the effects of ocean current on our planet:

            They are a huge factor on the world’s climate. They carry heat from one location to another, altering the Earth's surface temperature patterns and modifying the air above. They also move cold water from the poles toward the tropics and vice versa affecting regional climates. They flow for great distances, and together they create the great flow of the global conveyor belt which plays a dominant part in determining the climate of many of the Earth’s regions.

            They bring warm water up the north Atlantic to northwest Europe and stop ice from forming by the shores, which would block ships from entering and exiting ports.

            They create eddies, swirling loops of water as they flow.

            They affect upwelling in many places. They are important for sailors planning routes through the ocean.

            They are important for marine life because they transport creatures around the world and affect the water temperature in ecosystems. They help move food and nutrients, making them available for photosynthesis, metabolic requirements and/or consumption.

                Knowledge of surface ocean currents is essential in reducing costs of shipping, since they reduce fuel costs.

            They are important in the study of marine debris, and vice versa.

EDDIES

WAVES

            Waves are a constant reminder of the sea’s awesome power. The wind creates the waves. Their ability to erode rock and carry material away also exhibits their power and begins to explain why they are an important component to the study of physical geography.

            Since ocean waves are one of the most powerful natural phenomena on Earth, they have a significant impact on the shape of the Earth’s coastlines.

            One of the most famous examples of ocean waves impacting the coastline is the longshore or littoral current. They exist in the surf zone and work with waves hitting the shore. As such, they receive large amounts of sand and other sediment and transport it down shore as they flow. This material is called longshore drift and is essential to the building up of many of the world’s beaches.

            The movement of sand, gravel and sediment with longshore drift is known as deposition and forms depositional coastlines. Coastal landforms caused by deposition include barrier spits, bay barriers, lagoons, tombolos and even beaches themselves. Erosion also creates many of the coastal features found today including cliffs, wave-cut platforms, sea caves and arches.

            These features make it clear that ocean waves have a tremendous impact on the shape of the Earth’s coastlines.

LONGSHORE CURRENT

TIDES

            We all know that tides are the periodic rise and fall of ocean waters including those of open sea, gulfs, and bays resulting from the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun upon the water and upon the Earth itself. Some of the effects of tides to the Earth are the following:

            The ocean waters are displaced into the other side of the planet because of the gravitational pull of either the sun or moon.

            They also allow a unique environment along shorelines.

            They circulate and replenish rich supplies of nutrients along beaches.

            Organisms living near shorelines must be adapted on both buffeting waves and frequent shifts from open air to complete submersion. Marine organisms adapt in a variety of ways.

            When the tides go out, pockets of water remain trapped in rocks, depressions in the sand and natural basins called tidal pools.

TIDAL POOL

TSUNAMI

            When I hear this word, only one thing pops out in my mind: DISASTER. Yes, tsunamis are some of the most devastating natural disasters known to man. We can not even grasp the reality of how much devastation it can generate. A tsunami is caused by a strong earthquake on the ocean bed. Next paragraphs will reveal to us the tremendous power of tsunamis.

            They affect a huge area of land, transforming the landscape.

            They throw salty seawater over the land. Too much salt is bad for living things, so if soil becomes too salty, crops cannot grow or will not grow well.

            The force of a tsunami can also ruin pipelines and factories. This lets out sewage, oil, or dangerous chemicals into the environment.

            They create deadly currents and sweep away people, causing them to drown. The costs to human life can also be devastating.

            After the waters were retreated there was the elevated risk of disease created by stagnant and contaminated water.

            (There can also be more interesting effects that deal solely with scientific curiosity. The Christmas tsunami was so powerful it actually sped up the rotation of the Earth reducing the length of its sidereal day. The earthquake that spawned it also caused the Earth to vibrate all over by as much as 1 cm.) (Universe Today)

            Now I hope you can realize how much of these motions of water influence our planet, we could see its positive features but its negative features are also great costing lives, properties and even destruction of Earth’s physical aspect itself.

            Their influence towards the Earth is really overwhelming, isn’t it?