How do large bodies of water influence climate?
1 Answer
It moderates it.
Explanation:
Water works like a big battery for heat energy. When there is a lot of heat energy the water warms up, like charging a battery. This makes the air slightly cooler than it would be without the water nearby, since the heat that goes into warming the water will not be available for warming the land.
When there is less energy incoming, the water starts to release the heat that is stored. This will warm the land.
So the end result is cooler summers and warmer winters.
Now the other effect, more obvious, is the precipitation regime. Since there is a readily available source of water for precipitation usually there is increased precipitation. In rare cases were the combination of prevailing winds and geographic obstructions do not allow the moist air to travel far inland you can still have desert near to large water sources, but this is only in exceptional cases.
