How does the exceptional heat capacity of water affect climate on earth?

Answer 1

"The high specific heat of water affects Earth's climate because it makes the temperatures of the oceans relatively resistant to change."

My comments are below.

Refer to page 182 of Chemistry: The Essential Science, 13e.

If specific heat is the amount of heat required to raise a substance #1K# then since the Sun's radiation is hitting the sea, and in effect #CO_2# is held within the sea (among other elements). If the oceans theoretically evaporated, we'd have what happened on Venus, which is a runaway greenhouse effect.

In essence, if our oceans were more easily heated, they'd be more easily evaporated, which in turn would produce #CO_2# that would hold in electromagnetic radiation which would cause the temperature to exponentially rise.

There must be other viewpoints besides this one.

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Answer 2

Xavier Avery

Water's high heat capacity regulates temperature, stabilizing Earth's climate by absorbing and releasing heat slowly. Oceans moderate temperature variations, influencing weather patterns and maintaining a habitable environment.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.