text: how do ocean teperatures affect climates?   ocean temperature can increase or decrease temperature & precipitation in an area.  on a small scale, land & sea breezes are created by differences in temperature of the water & land. at night the water is warmer so low pressure is created, air rises, moves inland, falls, & replaces the rising air by moving back toward the sea. this is a land breeze b/c it comes from the land. the opposite is true during the day, a sea breeze.  on a larger scale, ocean currents sending water from the equator toward the poles keeps many places in the world warm enough to live in. europe is kept habitable b/c of this. the warm gulf current moving up alongside north america travels toward the coast of europe. the warm, moist air is brought inland giving them rain & mild temps. w/o this current, most of northern europe would be very very cold.  warmer ocean water is more conducive to storm formation. areas in the tropics have a plentiful supply of warm moist air. this air rises to form thunderstorms & tropical storms. these areas have more rain b/c of this.  air is directly influenced by ocean temperatures. air masses forming over an area, pick up the characteristics of that area. if the area is mostly water then the air mass will be moist, if it is warm, then the air mass will become warm, etc.