Does the atmosphere warm the ocean? Or does the ocean warm the atmosphere?

Answer 1

The ocean warms the atmosphere on average, but there is a lot of variability as a function of latitude and longitude. Furthermore, most of the heat flux is not in the form of heat, or radiation, it is in the form of water vapor (aka, latent heat). The link below has some nice pretty pictures, some words, I don't know, maybe you'll find it useful.

Google "ocean-atmosphere net heat flux" or "global surface ocean heat budget" or "global heat air-sea heat exchange" Lot's of stuff is out there online from decent sources.

Answer 2

In a word - yes. At different times and in different circumstances.

But the greater effect of the two by far is the ocean warming the atmosphere. The oceans get the vast majority of their heat the same way the rest of the planet does - straight from the sun.

The atmosphere acts mostly as an insulating blanket to keep that heat from radiating immediately back out into space. It also acts as a conveyor, transporting heat from the surface of the warmer regions to the colder regions.

Answer 3

IMHO, the oceans do more to warm the atmosphere than the other way around. The Sun warms the ocean waters, producing clouds, which encapsulate more of the Sun's heat in ongoing days. Not a sermon, just a thought ;)

Answer 4

It's a complex process of heat exchange from both the atmosphere to the ocean and vice versa.

Answer 5

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