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Article: Oceans, Tropical
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- Water:Science and Issues
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Oceans, Tropical
Tropical oceans encircle Earth in an equatorial band between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5
°
North latitude) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5
°
South latitude).
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The central portions of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and most of the Indian Ocean lie in the tropics. The warm tropical oceans play a critical role in regulating Earth's climate and large-scale weather patterns. Much of the planet's biological diversity resides in the tropics, and the global distribution of species and ecosystems depends on oceanographic and atmospheric processes that occur in the equatorial oceans.
Heat from the Sun drives global circulation of Earth's oceans and atmosphere. Much of ...