why do continental climates experience greater temperature extremes than maritime climates?

Question

is it the conduction from the cool water?

is it because its more turbulent so heat is disperse more broadly and deeply then in land. I’m not sure is but b/c it take longer to heat up and factors like evaporation are constantly causing it to drop in temp. so it’s stay pretty content. do the currents have anything to do with it?

Answer 1

Water has a higher specific heat capacity than land
Moist air also has a higher specific heat capacity than dry air
Therefore temperatures change less due to sun or absence of sun over oceans. Further mixing occurs in water spreading heat up from lower levels or vice versa.

Edited comment in response to further info: Conduction is likely to be greater in water, certainly than through dry soil or snow (which is also reflective). Whilst a warm, less dense layer may form on water (particularly calm water - El Nino effect for example), a cold layer will sink establishing convection currents which will rapidly transfer heat upwards if warmer water is below - it takes very extreme conditions indeed to freeze the surface of the ocean, much more than to establish a frost on land.

Answer 2

The ocean itself is made of water, which has a different specific heat than land...which means it takes more energy for the ocean water and its surroundings to change temperature than it does for land and its surroundings to change temperature. So if a peice of land and a peice of ocean get the same amount of sunlight (energy), then the ocean will change temperature less.