Rotating globe showing sea-surface temperature colour-coded time sequence with natural-colour satellite imagemap data on land. The ocean and atmosphere act to reduce temperature differences by transporting heat from the Equator to the poles. Without these heat engines, equatorial regions would be 10degC warmer, and the poles would be 20degC cooler than they are today.

Data source: European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS) Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) 10-day sea surface temperature grids from University College London (UCL) and Southampton Oceanography Centre (SOC), Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), British National Space Centre (BNSC), European Space Agency (ESA).

Credit : Planetary Visions Ltd.