Question

What would likely happen if ocean currents ceased to exist?

The ocean's temperature would increase.

Global temperatures would become more uniform.

Coastal regions would become cooler.

Global differences in temperature would increase.

Answer 1

Best choice: Global differences in temperature would increase.

Why: Ocean currents transport huge amounts of heat from the tropics toward the poles and redistribute heat regionally. If currents stopped, that heat transport would largely cease, so tropical regions would retain more heat while mid‑ and high latitudes (and places now warmed by pole‑ward currents, e.g. northwestern Europe) would cool. That increases the equator‑to‑pole temperature contrast and makes climates more extreme.

Why the others are wrong or too general:
- "The ocean's temperature would increase." Not generally true — some regions would warm, others cool, and the global mean wouldn’t necessarily rise simply because currents stopped.
- "Global temperatures would become more uniform." Opposite of what would happen; currents make temperatures more even, so removing them increases differences.
- "Coastal regions would become cooler." Some coasts would cool (those currently warmed by warm currents), others would warm (those cooled by upwelling or cold currents). It’s location dependent, not uniformly cooler.