Atmospheric motion

Atmospheric motion

1. Large scale movement controlled by two key factors.

   • The equator receives more solar energy than at the poles.
     • Higher albedo at poles exacerbates this
   • Coriolis force - the influence of the rotation of the Earth.

2. Latitudinal energy budget

   • oceans move to redistribute energy
   • Intense heating of the equator causes air to rise creating an area of low pressure that sucks in new air creating surface winds.
     • At tropics the surface winds oppose the poleward movement of energy. The warm wet air rises in the tropics moves towards the poles and gradually sinks in the subtropics.
     • Opposite happens at the poles the intense cooling causes the air to sink and a high pressure area, hence, strong cold out-blowing surface winds
     • The subtropical air mass formed from the sinking of the tropical air moves northwards to the poles to encounter the polar winds, forming the polar front.
       • These 3 major winds produce 3 major vertical circulation cells aka the Hadley cells

3. Coriolis force

   • controls the horizontal direction of the surface and high-altitude winds of the Hadley cells
   • because the Earth is rotating, everything has an easterly velocity
     • However, because the Earth is roughly spherical the distance around the equator is more thus having a greater easterly velocity
       • The Coriolis force is the relative effect of moving from one latitude to another.
   • It influences how we view the trajectory of certain moving objects
   • It deflects winds to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere which creates weather systems that rotate clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the southern hemisphere.
     • Thus, affecting entire climate patterns