Ocean Systems & Sea Level Change
📋 What it is
Oceans store heat and carbon, drive currents, and rise as they warm and land ice melts.
🗣️ Coach says
Oceans are climate’s giant buffer. They absorb most of the extra heat and much of the CO₂, and their currents move heat around the planet. As water warms it EXPANDS, and melting land ice adds water — together these raise sea levels, affecting coasts worldwide.
🧠 Memory hook
Oceans store heat + carbon and move heat via currents. Warming → water expands + ice melts → seas rise.
😂 Giggle
What did the glacier say as it melted?
"I used to be so cool — what happened?!"
😲 Whoa!
Most sea-level rise so far comes not from melting ice but from water simply EXPANDING as it warms — warmer water literally takes up more space.
✅ Quick check: Name one reason the sea level is rising as the climate warms.
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Warming water expands (takes more space), and melting land ice adds water to the oceans.
Thermal expansion + land-ice melt both raise sea level.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Warm a full bottle of water in the sun and mark the level — warmed water expands slightly upward.