does more precipitation occur over oceans or over land? Explain​

Chemistry · Middle School · Thu Feb 04 2021

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More precipitation generally occurs over oceans than over land. Precipitation, which includes rain, snow, sleet, and hail, is part of the Earth's hydrological cycle. Here are some steps that explain why this happens:

1. Evaporation - Over the oceans, the sun heats the surface water, causing it to evaporate and turn into water vapor. Since the oceans cover approximately 71% of the Earth's surface, they provide a vast area for evaporation.

2. Condensation - The warm, moist air rises and cools, leading to the condensation of water vapor into cloud particles.

3. Transportation - Winds and atmospheric circulation patterns can carry this moisture-laden air over large distances, sometimes from the oceans towards inland.

4. Precipitation - When clouds reach a point of saturation, precipitation occurs. This can happen over the ocean itself or the moisture can be carried over to land before it falls as precipitation.

5. Greater Moisture Over Oceans - Since the oceans are a constant source of evaporated water, there is generally more moisture available in the air over the ocean than over the land. This leads to more frequent and more intense precipitation events over the ocean.

Now, although there is more precipitation overall over the oceans, the distribution of precipitation on land can be quite variable and is influenced by factors such as geography, altitude, proximity to bodies of water, and prevailing winds.