Thus water has a high specific heat. The same can be said about the reverse - water cools slowly as well. The percentage of radiation reflected from a surface is called the albedo. Water surfaces reflect only a small amount of solar energy. An object that reflects very little sunlight absorbs a great deal.
Water has a low albedo but high absorption.
Because of these unique properties and because oceans cover about 70 percent of the earth, water has a strong modifying effect on weather and climate. Some computer models predict that doubling atmospheric carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, would cause rising ocean temperatures, which will cause an increase in evaporation. The added water vapor, also a greenhouse gas, will enhance the greenhouse effect, which would further increase global warming. This is a positive feedback mechanism. However, there is a negative feedback theory.