Questions and Answers
What is wind defined as?
Any horizontal movement of air
What does the name 'Alizé' mean in French?
The northeasterly trade winds
What is a popular renewable energy source in Europe?
Wind energy
How are winds named?
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What does the author compare the atmosphere to?
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What was an essential foundation for circumnavigating the globe during the voyages of discovery?
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What does the author suggest will continue to shape our lives in the future?
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What does the author imply about the ideal weather for going with the flow in the ocean?
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What is the speed of the equator due to Earth's rotation?
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In which direction does the Coriolis effect cause deflection in the Southern Hemisphere?
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What did the Hadley cell propose to describe?
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Where does the intertropical convergence zone create the doldrums?
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What are the weak winds at around 30 degrees latitude known as?
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Which winds have historically been relied upon for navigation and trade towards the equator?
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What caused challenges for sailors in the 'horse latitudes'?
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What made the return trip from the Americas challenging for sailors?
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Why do the wind patterns in the Southern Hemisphere blow with greater strength?
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How many pressure belts are there on the idealized Earth?
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What influences wind patterns?
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What causes the Coriolis effect?
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What causes high pressure areas (highs) to form?
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What are low pressure areas (lows) associated with?
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What is the belt of low pressure near the equator known as?
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What causes local wind phenomena like sea breezes?
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What balances energy and creates winds?
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What causes winds to appear to curve as they travel?
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What draws winds towards the center of low pressure areas?
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What do meteorologists use air pressure measurements for?
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What causes atmospheric pressure to vary?
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What causes warm air to rise?
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Study Notes
The Science of Wind and Global Wind Patterns
- Wind patterns are linked to global air temperature patterns, influenced by insolation from the Sun and key factors like latitude, elevation, proximity to the ocean, and surface type.
- Warm air rises while cool air sinks due to differences in density, and air molecules have weight, leading to atmospheric pressure.
- Atmospheric pressure varies with location, season, and time of day, with wind smoothing out pressure differences created by air temperature patterns.
- Meteorologists use air pressure measurements to forecast weather, with low pressure areas (lows) having less pressure than standard sea level pressure.
- Lows can be known as depressions or cyclones, and are associated with cloudy and rainy weather due to rising air drawing winds towards the center.
- High pressure areas (highs) result from cooling and denser air sinking, causing clear and sunny weather.
- Air moves between high and low pressure areas to balance energy, creating winds, with the difference in pressure called a pressure gradient.
- Local wind phenomena, like sea breezes, result from temperature differences between land and sea.
- The equator experiences a belt of low pressure known as the equatorial trough, while the poles have high pressure due to cold, sinking air.
- The Coriolis effect, caused by the Earth's rotation, makes winds appear to curve as they travel, affecting wind directions.
- The Coriolis effect causes winds to curve as they travel over the rotating Earth, influencing wind patterns and directions.
- Wind patterns are influenced by a combination of factors including air temperature, atmospheric pressure, and the Coriolis effect due to the Earth's rotation.
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