Air and Sea Interactions

Air and Sea: Interdependency Atmosphere and ocean are one interconnected system. Change in atmosphere affects the ocean. Change in ocean affects the atmosphere.

Unequal Solar Heating Greatest amount of solar radiation is at the equator. Least amount of solar radiation at the poles. Moderate amount of solar radiation is at the mid latitudes. Creates an imbalance of heat on the Earth’s surface over land and water.

Intensity of Solar Radiation (This drives the overall heating/cooling on Earth.) Greatest at the equator. Least at the poles. Moderate at mid latitudes. Intensity is reduced because decreasing angle of sun’s rays and radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere. Intensity is affected by night and day and the seasonal changes.

Earth Surface Temperatures and Heat Transfer Land more readily absorbs and releases heat due to its low heat capacity. Oceans have a larger heat capacity. It takes the ocean awhile to heat up, but once it does, it keeps the heat for a long time.

Ocean’s Role in Temperature Oceans play an important role in stabilizing the surface temperature of earth. Their large heat capacity allows them to store and release large quantities of heat without large changes in temperature. This helps moderate surface temperatures.

Earth’s Heat Budget Incoming heat being absorbed by the Earth, and outgoing heat escaping the Earth in the form of radiation are both perfectly balanced. If they were not balanced, then Earth would be getting either progressively warmer or progressively cooler with each passing year. This balance between incoming and outgoing heat is known as Earth’s heat budget.

Earth’s Heat Budget

WIND Air moves from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. Wind is formed by this movement of air from high pressure to low pressure. Local and global winds are caused by the differences in air pressure due to unequal heating of the atmosphere.

Local Winds Winds that affect a smaller area. Caused by the unequal heating of the earth. Sea Breezes: Flow of air from the sea to the land. Land Breezes: Flow of air from the land to the sea. *The name of the wind tells you from which direction the wind is blowing from.*

Sea Breeze Occur during the day. Land heats quicker than water. Air above the land heats up and rises. Cooler air over the ocean rushes in to take the place of the warm air over the land. A convection cell is created.

Land Breeze Occur at night. Land cools quickly at night, but the water doesn’t. Air over the water is warmer because water can hold heat longer than the land. Air rises over the water and sinks over land. A convection cell is created.

Global Winds Formed from the unequal heating of the earth’s surface. The sun is almost directly overhead the equator throughout the year, so the equator is heated rapidly. Temperatures near the poles are colder than temperatures near the equator.

Global Winds Cont. At the equator warm air RISES and moves towards the poles. At the poles cooler air SINKS and moves toward the equator. Now you have a global wind pattern of air circulation; convection currents/cells.

Global Winds/Coriolis Effect Do not move directly from north to south or from south to north. Remember, the earth rotates, or spins on its axis, from west to east. The paths of the winds shift in relation to the earths surface. This is all due to the CORIOLIS EFFECT.

Coriolis Effect Causes deflections of the atmosphere due to the rotation of the earth. This effect helps to create the global wind pattern. Winds in the Northern Hemisphere curve to the right as they move. Winds in the Southern Hemisphere curve to the left as they move.