Download Unit 2 Section 6 Atmospheric Circulation Patterns

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~dib2/GE1001/atmosphere2.html
LEARNING TARGETS:
•I can explain how
the atmosphere
shapes Earth’s climate
and weather.
•I can use weather
data to model the
complex interactions
responsible for
weather and climate
http://www.fractaluniverse.org/v2/?page_id=145
Vertical motion is when warm air rises
and becomes buoyant.
Horizontal motion is when wind is
created by air moving from high pressure
areas, where air is densely compressed,
to low-pressure areas, where air is less
dense.
VERTICAL
64.Explain what is meant by vertical and
horizontal motion?
HORIZONTAL
http://vector-magz.com/illustrations/wind-clip-art-item-2
Even with
disruptions
like weather
fronts and
storms,
there is a
consistent
pattern to
how air
moves
around our
planet’s
atmosphere.
https://spark.ucar.edu/shortcontent/global-look-moving-air-atmospheric-circulation
65.Define and
explain isobars.
Isobars are the
lines on a weather
map that show
pressure
differences. The
parallel lines
show changes in
pressure, usually
in increments of 2
to 4 millibars.
http://tnms.org/DataDiscovery/Hurr_ED_Center/Hurr_Structure_Energetics/Closed_Isobars/Closed_Isobars.html
66. Sea breezes show how vertical and horizontal
movements combine to modify temperature and
pressure at a local level.
Diagram A
Diagram B
http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=2&secNum=6
Explain what is happening in diagram A and why.
During the day coastal land
regions heat up more than the
sea because land warms more
quickly than water. Air over the
land is thus warmed and rises,
increasing pressure in the
atmosphere above the surface,
where it starts to cool and form
clouds. It then flows at altitude
from the area of high pressure
over land to lower pressure over
the sea. Because there is then
less mass over the land and more
over the sea, pressure at the
surface is higher at sea, so air
flows in from the sea to the land.
Diagram A
sea breeze by day
Explain what is happening in diagram B and why
At night, when land cools
more quickly than the
ocean, the cycle is
reversed.
sea breeze at night
67.Define the Coriolis force.
What is the effect of this phenomenon?
The Coriolis force
is an apparent force
caused by Earth’s
rotation that allows
for winds that move
over very long
distances to appear
to curve.
*Air at a point on the equator rotates at 1,700
kph, compared to 850 kph for a point that lies
at 60°.
http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/edu/k12/.coriolis
The measure of the extent to which an object
will continue to rotate about a point unless
acted upon by an external torque.
Hurricanes are
giant, spiraling
tropical storms
that can pack
wind speeds of
over 160 miles
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/hurricane-profile/
69. An object's angular momentum is the product of
its mass, its velocity and its distance from the
reference point (its radius).
70. The Coriolis force makes the winds in lowpressure weather systems such as hurricanes rotate
(counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and
clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere), curving into
spirals.
71. Air parcels will spiral into low pressure areas
near the surface, then rise once they reach the
center. As the air rises, it cools, producing
condensation, clouds, and rain.
72.Air parcels will spiral away from high pressure
areas near the surface toward low pressure
areas.
http://disasterandemergencysurvival.com/archives/what-to-do-if-a-hurricane-is-coming
73. The first attempt to show how weather
patterns combined to produce a general circulation
of the atmosphere was offered in 1735 by English
meteorologist George Hadley.
74. Hadley's model was accurate in many respects.
What was he not aware of in his explanation?
He was not aware of the Coriolis force, which
produces easterly winds near the surface at low
latitudes ("trade winds") and westerly winds at high
latitudes. Farther north and south, this pattern
repeats in two more sets of circulation zones, or
"cells," between the tropics and the poles.
http://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/911/oem/hurricaneseason.html