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Chapter 03: Impacts of climate change on the physical oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef
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Title: | Chapter 03: Impacts of climate change on the physical oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef |
Authors: | Steinberg, C. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority |
ASFA Subjects: | Climatic changes Ecosystem resilience Coral reefs Oceanography |
APAIS Subject: | Environmental management Environmental impact |
Location: | Reef-wide |
Category: | Animals Plants Ecosystems Processes Economic values Social values Climate change Coastal communities |
Issue Date: | 2007 |
Publisher: | The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority |
Series/Report no.: | Book: Climate change and the Great Barrier Reef: a vulnerability assessment |
Abstract: | The oceans function as vast reservoirs of heat, the top three metres of the ocean alone stores all the equivalent heat energy contained within the atmosphere29. This is due to the high specific heat of water, which is a measure of the ability of matter to absorb heat. The ocean therefore has by far the largest heat capacity and hence energy retention capability of any other climate system component. Surface ocean currents (significantly forced by large scale winds) play a major role in redistributing the earth’s heat energy around the globe by transporting it from the tropical regions poleward principally via western boundary currents such as the East Australian Current (EAC). These currents therefore have a major affect on maritime and continental weather and climate. |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11017/536 |
ISBN: | 9781876945619 |
Type of document: | Book section or chapter |
Appears in Collections: | Effects |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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Chapter-3-Impacts-of-climate-change-on-the-physical-oceanography.pdf | 1.7 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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