Air-Sea interactions Chapter 8
SOLAR CONNECTION- Air and Sun “Others” represents the percentage of Water Vapor and Aerosols
SOLAR CONNECTION- Air and Sun (Atmospheric Layers)
SOLAR CONNECTION- Air and Sun Amount of water Vapor Depends on temp, density and pressure. Adding water vapor decreases density, why? True or false, two air masses of same temp can have different densities? What causes precipitation?
SOLAR CONNECTION- Air and Sun Define Saturated Air, how does it effect water vapor? When it warms? When it cools? Saturated air cools, vapor condenses to droplets or ice crystals Coalesence
SOLAR CONNECTION- Air and Sun
SOLAR CONNECTION- Air and Sun Cooling occurs where warm air mass collides with cold air mass “Weather Front” Cold/warm fronts result in precipitation Draw conclusions as to why this is extremely important for Humans globally (think Aquifers)
Earth’s Heat Balance
Solar Radiation at the top of atm is ~1366Watts/(m^2) Solar Radiation at the surface is ~1000Watts/(m^2) on a clear summer day Loss due to absorption and reflection in the atm
Earth’s Heat Balance Define Albedo, Analyze the effect of albedo. Contrast the type of in coming and out going radiation. Greenhouse effect, without out it how much cooler would Earth be?
Uneven Heating
Explain the concept of convection using your notes How is this relevant to Earth?
Uneven Heating
Coriolis Effect- Deflection to the Right or Left? Coriolis Effect is the Tendency for a path of a moving object to deflect to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern. Influences both wind and ocean currents.
Earth’s Rotation Coriolis effect is caused by Earth’s Rotation. Hypothesize why this phenomenon occurs specifically in fluids (water and air)
Earth’s Rotation
Coriolis effect
Earth’s Rotation
The Winds- the Coriolis effect and winds
The Winds
INTER TROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE (ITCZ) Most Deserts line up along 30 degree lines of latitude both N and S, why? Dry air sinks at edges of Hadley Cells (forming trade winds) Dry air over oceans pick up moisture and heat Influences climate and weather, how?
INTER TROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE (ITCZ) Line marking temperature EQ Shifts across equator due to seasonal changes in temp Land has lower heat capacity than water, and northern hemisphere has more land. Why is it not a straight line? What affects it?
Monsoons and Cyclones Monsoons (Arabic Mausim meaning season) Seasonal wind pattern changes caused by heating and cooling on the continents, What do they mean by this? What property of land vs water is the cause of this? Common in west coast of India Early traders planned voyages based on monsoon (sail toward land during summer, and away during winter) why? Why does wind flow toward land during winter?
Monsoons and Cyclones Cyclones, what are they? They can become typhoons (in the Pacific Ocean) or Hurricanes (in the Atlantic) What is the difference between Extratropical and Tropical typhoons? They form where moist winds get drawn into a low pressure area, and the Coriolis effect causes them to spiral inward. Convections cells form in the rising air producing rain, which releases heat higher up in the atmosphere reducing air pressure even further (what does this cause?) Gains energy and moisture from warm waters, loses energy over land or cool water (may dissipate entirely)
Extratropical Cyclones Occur in the boundary between westbound polar winds and the eastbound westerlies. Air masses have varying density (what does this result in?) If westerlies become stronger, they push northward and bulge into the polar cell causing it to turn in that direction and conserving energy. As warm air (westerlies) rises, cool air (polar) replaces it. Surface winds spiral in towards the center of low-pressure area, at higher altitudes system receives energy as water vapor condenses (condensation releases heat, what is this called?) Travel along the boundary of Hadley and Polar Ferrel Cell (~30 degrees north, Aka Horse latitudes)
Extratropical Cyclones