Unit 4 Atmospheric Circulation PDF

Atmospheric Circulation Outline - Surface Winds on an Ideal Earth - Subtropical High-Pressure Belts - Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), and Monsoon Circulation - Wind and Pressure Features at Higher Latitudes Loading…  Surface Winds on an Ideal Earth Ideal Earth No...

Atmospheric Circulation Outline - Surface Winds on an Ideal Earth - Subtropical High-Pressure Belts - Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), and Monsoon Circulation - Wind and Pressure Features at Higher Latitudes Loading…  Surface Winds on an Ideal Earth Ideal Earth No pattern of land and water No seasonal changes Equatorial regions receive the most insolation Surface has the warmest temperature Air rises Poles receive the least insolation Surface has the coolest temperature Air descends Pressure gradients exist between the equator and poles Pressure differences usually occur as a result heating differences. Large-scale heating differences between the equator and poles produce the general circulation of the atmosphere. Wind Systems Loading… https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=i2mec3vgeaI  The Inter Tropical Convergence Zone, or ITCZ, is a belt of low pressure which circles the Earth Doldrums those parts of generally near the equator where the trade winds the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres come Convergence Zone together. The intense sun and warm water of the equator heats the air in the ITCZ, raising its humidity and making it buoyant. belt of low pressure lying between the subtropical high pressure belts of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=XzWteUpTpu8&list=TLPQMjAwOTIwMjBIk- vV3ZpTmA&index=2 Hadley cell  Polar Easterlies Polar Easterlies can be found at the north and south poles and they are cold and dry because of where it is located, which is at high latitudes. This type of wind system forms when cool air, at the poles, and then transfers to the equator. Polar Easterlies are located 60-90 degrees latitude in both the southern and northern hemispheres.  Tropical Easterlies Tropical Easterlies take direction in an east to west flow because of the rotation of the Earth. Loading… As air from the equator rises, it gets warmer and when it cools down, it comes back down to the equator. Tropical easterlies are located 0-30 degrees latitude in both hemispheres.  Prevailing Westerlies Prevailing Westerlies are located in the 30-60 degrees latitude in the northern and southern hemispheres. They blow from west to east and occur in the clement part of the Earth. Pressure Belts  Pressure Belts Polar High The polar high has high pressure and is associated with polar regions, which are dense and cold.  Surface Winds on an Ideal Earth The Poles – Cold air descends over the poles – Produces the “polar high” at the surface – Winds veer to the right/left in the northern/southern hemisphere under the influence of the Coriolis force – Produces the “polar easterlies”  Monsoon Circulation A monsoon is a circulation system with certain well-defined characteristics. During summer, lower tropospheric winds flow toward heated continents away from the colder oceanic regions of the winter hemisphere. In the upper troposphere the flow is reversed, with flow from the summer to the winter hemisphere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpeVqICLTig The ITCZ and the Monsoon Circulation