what is the relevance of water's high specific heat to life on earth?

Answer 1

to cover what hasn't been covered - life itself - the fact that our bodies are mostly composed of water means that we are highly resistant to temperature change which allows a wider portion of the biosphere being survivable and this was a main factor in allowing the move from water to land - in effect we carried that 'high specific heat' water environment with us

to conclude it is possible that the stabilizing effect of water on the internal environment is what makes higher forms ( more complex forms ) of life possible - i can't think of any other way we would be able to regulate internal temperatures except through the water based cooling system our bodies have - any other material would become too hot in the process of transferring the thermal energy from the inside to the outside - this is the reason that the larger animals are possible and applies to mammals as well as reptiles

Answer 2

The oceans on earth are all sea water whose specific heat is almost the same as pure water, which has a specific heat of 1. The land on the other hand has a much lesser specific heat, say 0.2 or so (I am writing from memory and the value may be a little different). The same amount of sunlight falls on both the land and the sea at a given latitude and longitude, but the temperature attained is different.

Land heats up quickly compared to water and thus the air in contact with land also gets heated and rises up. So, during the day, a breeze blows from the sea to the land. After sunset, the reverse happens. The land cools down quickly and the sea remains warm and thus a land breeze flows from land to sea in night. Similar convection currents take place in the air also because of different heights of land masses and thus help in stirring up and distributing air and moisure better.

The oceans and the ice trap a lot of heat and thus help stabilise the temperature of the earth, reducing the difference between the maximum and minimum of the temperature on earth. To get a persective, compare the temperature readings in a 24 hour period of a desert place and a sea coast.

The moon has no atmosphere and no water as we know. The temperature differences are much greater there than on earth. Thus the presence of water and its large specific heat have helped the temperature on earth to remain relatively more uniform and thus help the fragile life forms to thrive.

Answer 3

High specific heat means water can absorb more heat (from, say, sunlight) without changing its temperature too much. As a result, the climate around the area will stay relatively stable since the water is not heating up too much (imagine, if this were't so the oceans could be boiling and we'd be frying on the surface). So life in the water and on the surface benefit.

Answer 4

The high specific heat makes water a temperature moderator. Evaporation cools, freezing halts a temperature drop. (Have you noted that dry deserts experience wider temperature swings during a day, then do wetlands?) We live in the temperature range that the liquid water in our eco-sphere helps to maintain. Evaporative cooling, (sweating) is our primary mechanism for rejecting waste heat.