Winds, Currents, and the CORIOLIS EFFECT

The Coriolis Effect Definition: The deflection of moving objects when viewed on a rotating plane

The Coriolis Effect and the Earth You go to travel from the North Pole at 0 degrees longitude to England. As you are in the air, the Earth rotates underneath you. You would then end up in somewhere in the ocean, due to the counter-clockwise rotation of the Earth

The Coriolis Effect and the Earth The Coriolis Effect in the Northern Hemisphere causes wind and water to always curve to it’s right (clockwise) In the Southern Hemisphere, wind and water always curve to the left (counter clockwise)

The Coriolis Effect and Winds Since the Coriolis Effect causes wind to “curve”, it creates specific winds called Easterlies and Westerlies Easterlies originate from the East Westerlies originate from the West Types of wind that originate typically from one direction, are called prevailing winds

Prevailing Winds and Convection Depending on the placement of convection cells and latitude, winds exist in broad bands, and behave according to the Coriolis Effect Around the equator, the prevailing winds are easterlies, called the tradewinds as they facilitated trade between Europe and the New World (America) At mid latitudes, the prevailing winds are westerlies At the poles, the prevailing winds transition back to easterlies

Horse Latitudes Where subtropical highs originate, the winds are either inconsistent, or very calm. When the Spanish were transporting horses to the New World, they often would begin to run out of water due to delays in these regions. To save water, they would often throw un-needed animals (horses) overboard to conserve for the rest of the journey.