Chapter 4 - Pressure Centers and Winds Flashcards
What are cyclones?
Centers of low pressure
What are anticyclones?
Center of high pressure
What happens in Cyclones and Anticyclones?
The pressure in cyclones decreases from the outer isobars toward the center.
The pressure in anticyclones has its values of the isobars increase from the outside toward the center.
What happens when the pressure gradient and the Coriolis effect are applied to pressure centers in the northern hemisphere?
Winds blow counterclockwise around a low. Around a high, they blow clockwise.
What happens in either hemisphere for friction of cyclones and anticyclones?
Friction causes a net flow of air inward around a cyclone and a net flow of air outward around an anticyclone
What happens if the effect of rotation were added to the global circulation model?
The two-cell convection system would break down into smaller cells.
What are trade winds?
2 belts of winds that blow almost constantly from easterly directions
Located on the north and south sides of the subtropical highs.
What are Westerlies?
The dominant west to east motion of the atmosphere that characterizes the regions on the poleward side of the subtropical highs.
What is Polar Easterlies?
Winds that blow from the polar high toward the subpolar low.
These winds are not constant like the trade winds.
What are polar fronts?
Stormy frontal zone separating cold air masses of polar origin from warm air masses of tropical origin.
Name the cells of the circulation on a rotating Earth.
Northern hemisphere to Southern Hemisphere:
Polar Cell
Ferrel Cell
Hadley Cell
Hadley Cell
Ferrel Cell
Polar Cell
What are Monsoons?
The seasonal reversal of wind direction associated with large continents, especially Asia.
(EX: In winter, the wind blows from land to sea. In summer, the wind blows from sea to land.)
What is the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)?
A belt of low pressure which circle the Earth generally near the equator where the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere come together.
(Note: There is usually a belt of clouds formed in this area.)
