Final answer:
The phenomenon described is known as a land breeze, which occurs at night as air moves from the cooler land to the warmer ocean due to the different heating and cooling rates of land and water.
Step-by-step explanation:
At nighttime, when the ocean is still warm, the land cools faster due to the lower specific heat capacity when compared to water. Since land loses heat quicker than the ocean, the air above the land cools and becomes denser while the warmer air above the ocean rises, creating a pressure difference. This difference causes air to move from the high-pressure area over the cooler land to the low-pressure area over the warmer ocean, and this phenomenon is known as a land breeze.
During the day, the situation is reversed, leading to a sea breeze. The land heats up faster under the sun, causing the air above it to warm up and rise. The cooler, denser air from over the ocean then moves inland to replace the rising warm air, creating a breeze from the sea to the land. This cycle is driven by the different heating and cooling rates of land and water due to their varying specific heat capacities.