Final answer:
Sea breezes form during the day and change direction at night due to the specific heat capacities of water and sand. Two advantages of the model of the beach for heat transfer are coastal climate moderation and thermal braking. Two limits of the model are daytime-only phenomenon and the assumption of uniform distribution of heating in the ocean.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sea breezes form during the day and change direction at night due to the specific heat capacities of water and sand. Two advantages of the model of the beach for heat transfer are:
- Coastal climate moderation: Water has a higher specific heat capacity than sand, so it can absorb and release more heat for the same change in temperature. This results in coastal areas having more moderate temperature variations compared to inland areas.
- Thermal braking: The ocean acts as a thermal brake on fast heating as it has a large mass compared to ice. This helps to slow down the rate of temperature increase in the upper layers of the ocean, which in turn controls the air temperature.
Two limits of the model of the beach for heat transfer are:
- Daytime-only phenomenom: Sea breezes occur only during the day when the air temperature on the land is highest and the air temperature above the water is coldest. At night, the breezes are reversed, moving from the land toward the ocean.
- Uniform distribution assumption: The model assumes uniform distribution of heating to the entire depth of the ocean. In reality, oceanic circulation patterns may concentrate heating in the upper layers, leading to localized temperature increases.