Climate Variation 📖 Flashcards

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1
Q

Descending air

A

High pressure

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2
Q

Rising air

A

Low pressure

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3
Q

Facts

A
  • The earth receives all of its heat from the sun.
  • Winds move this air from high to low pressure.
  • However because the earth rotates, the air does not flow in a straight line.
  • As the air moves above the surface of the earth, underneath it the planet continues to rotate, so winds actually follow a curved path.
  • This is called Coriolis effect.
  • In the Northern Hemisphere winds are deflected right.
  • In the Southern Hemisphere winds are deflected left.
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4
Q

Hemisphere

A
  • Storms in the Northern Hemisphere spin anti-clockwise.
  • Storms in the Southern Hemisphere spin clockwise.
  • The Coriolis effect causes fluids to curve.
  • The earths axis spin west to east.
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5
Q

Jet streams

A
  • Jet streams are the strong upper air currents circum navigating the globe.
  • There are two main jets : the polar jet and subtropical jet.
  • Jet streams can fluctuate in strength between 100-200mph.
  • The position of the jet stream over the UK determines the type of weather we experience.
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6
Q

Gulf Stream

A
  • One of the strongest ocean currents in the world .
  • Brings warmth to the UK and North-West Europe.
  • Without this it would be 5°c cooler bringing average temperature in December to about 2°c.
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7
Q

Area effected by the Coriolis effect

A

An example of an area that is impacted by the Coriolis effect is the UK. The UK receives prevailing wind from the south west and this is the Gulf Stream it is bent right due to being in the northern hemisphere.

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