How Does Ocean Temperatures Work?

The ocean’s temperature changes depending on how much sunlight it gets and how deep you go.

Imagine the ocean is like a big swimming pool that's outside in the sun. When the sun shines down, it warms up the top of the pool, just like when you lay out in the sun and get warm. This is called surface water, and it’s usually the warmest part of the ocean.

But if you go deeper, it gets colder, like when you jump into a cold swimming pool. The water near the bottom is called deep water, and it stays cool because sunlight can’t reach there, it’s too far down.

Sometimes, the deep, cold water moves up to the top, and the warm surface water moves down. This mixing is like when you stir your hot chocolate, the hot liquid goes down, and the cooler one comes up.

When the ocean gets warmer or colder, it affects weather and sea creatures, just like how a warm bath feels nice, but a cold one might make you shiver!