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Atmospheric Circulation
Chapter 7
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Atmospheric circulation
Global – Covers major portions of the earth Synoptic – covers 100s to 1000s of km2 Mesoscale – covers 10 of km2 Microscale – small exchanges of mater and energy
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Global Scale Circulation
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Single cell model George Hadley The earth is warmed at the equator.
Air expands upward and diverges toward the pole At the pole air cools and flows back toward the equator
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Single cell model Because the earth is rotating the wind is shifted to the right (left in SH)
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Single cell model Zonal winds – blow east to west or west to east Meridional winds – blow south to north or north to south
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Single cell model Not a very realistic model
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3-cell model Each hemisphere is divided into 3 distinct circulation cells
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3-cell model Polar cell Ferrel cell Hadley cell
Each cell has associated pressure and wind patterns
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3-cell model ITCZ = Intertropical convergence zone Creates the equatorial low, rainiest regions on earth Little wind – doldrums
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3-cell model Subtropical High – very dry Location of many of the earth’s deserts Little wind – horse latitudes Between NE trade winds
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3-cell model Subpolar low – plenty of rain Mid latitude westerlies Polar high – pretty dry Polar easterlies
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Global Atmospheric Circulation Model
To view this animation, click “View” and then “Slide Show” on the top navigation bar.
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3-cell model Is OK at explaining some pressure and wind phenomena. Ex ITCZ
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The “real” world Not covered by distinct belts that completely encircle the earth Circulation is dominated by semi-permanent cells of low or high pressure
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Winter Weather in the North America is dominated by the Aleutian Low and Icelandic Low
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Summer Weather in North America is dominated by the Hawaiian High and the Bermuda-Azores High
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Seasonal Pressure and Precipitation Patterns
To view this animation, click “View” and then “Slide Show” on the top navigation bar.
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The jet stream The pressure gradient force increases with height
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The jet stream The Polar front is a boundary between very cold polar air and warmer mid-latitude air Creates an extreme Pressure Gradient force
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The jet stream The result is a powerful flow of air, the jet stream, located near the tropopause at the polar front
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Synoptic scale circulation
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Ridges and troughs Ridges – thicker regions of the atmosphere with higher pressure, often associated with surface divergence Troughs – thinner regions of the atmosphere with lower pressure, often associated with surface convergence
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Ridges and troughs Ridge Trough
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Ridges and troughs Can best be seen on a 500mb map
Troughs point toward the equator Ridges point toward the pole 500mb map
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Rossby Waves The ridges and troughs form long waves, called Rossby waves, which circle each hemisphere. Rossby waves can remain stationary or move west to east Movement of the waves can transport vast amounts of air
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The Jet Stream and Rossby Waves
To view this animation, click “View” and then “Slide Show” on the top navigation bar.
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Rossby waves Groovy web animation
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Ocean Currents Large scale movements of surface water that can exchange energy and moisture with the atmosphere
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Ocean Currents
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Ocean Circulation To view this animation, click “View” and then “Slide Show” on the top navigation bar.
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Foehn winds Winds that flow down mountain slopes, warm by compression and bring warm dry air to the lowlands Chinook – formed by air descending the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains Santa Ana – formed by high pressure over the Rockies and Great Basin
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Chinook
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Santa Ana
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Mesoscale circulation
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Sea / land breezes Sea breeze Land breeze
Land warms faster in the day then water Causes air to expand, rise, diverge and thus create low pressure Air moves from the sea to balance the pressure Land breeze At night the land cools faster than the water and the situation is reversed
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Sea / land breezes
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Mountain / valley breezes
Daytime heating of the mountain causes air to warm, rise and be replaced by air from the valley Mountain breeze At night the mountain cools an air sinks down to the valley
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Have a great day!
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