1. Land Breezes and Sea Breezes Sea Breeze

2. Sea Breeze: During the day, the land warms up faster than the water. The warm air over the land rises, while the cooler air over the water sinks down and moves in to replace the warm air.

3. As the warm air rises, it expands and cools. As it cools, it becomes more dense, so that it sinks back down. A convection current is created:

6. Land Breeze

7. Land Breeze: At night, dry land cools faster than water, due to the water’s large specific heat capacity. Since the land cools faster than the water, the air above the water is now warmer and less dense than the air above the dry land.

8. Therefore the path of the convection current is the opposite of the daytime current. Warmer air above the water is rising, drawing in the cooler air from the land.