Global distribution of energy Flashcards
The wind is created by…
differences in pressure.
Elevation and topography significantly affect…
the speed and direction of the surface wind belts.
The pressure gradients change with…
ITCZ.
Albedo and land mass have a great impact on…
the pressure gradients.
The strongest winds are at…
ITCZ, due to extremely low-pressure areas, creating steep pressure gradients.
During winter South Equatorial ocean current in Atlantic ocean is…
cut by cold water so there are no hurricanes during winter in the Gulf of Mexico
The North Atlantic Drift brings hot air which is…
saturated with water, causing rainy weather in Britain.
The insolation causes water to…
warm up, making it less dense, so it rises up and moves polar-wards where the water is colder and denser.
The direction of ocean currents can be changed by…
the coastline and by other currents. E.g. Gulf stream is directed towards Britain due to Labrador current.
In winter Labrador current is more…
dominant, so less warm water is in North Atlantic Drift.
The Labrador current is stronger because…
the ITCZ moves South.
The Labrador current reduces the temperatures of…
the western side of Atlantic ocean, while the warm North Atlantic Drift rises temperatures on the eastern side.
As ITCZ moves closer to…
North, more warm water enters the Gulf of Mexico. This increases the risk of latent heat and formation of doldrums.
Rossby wave is a band of…
jet streams. They are formed by disturbances in jet streams, causing them to move poleward or southward. They are large-scale and fast moving up to 200km/h.
Rossby waves are made of…
westerly winds which follow a ridge and trough-like pattern in the upper troposphere.
The Rossby wave develops between…
cold and warm air.
The air in Rossby wave accelerates towards…
the ridge and then decelerates towards the trough.
Rossby wave brings hot air to…
ridge and cold air towards the trough. This creates areas of high and low pressures.
The Rossby wave moves eastwards and….
Westwards, so weather systems(up to 1000km) of high or low-pressure move over the areas.
Extreme weather is caused when…
rossby waves overlap so superpose, which increases the amplitude, therefore, the magnitude.
The deceleration of Rossby wave air as it moves towards…
trough, causes air to constrict, forcing the air down, spiralling anticlockwise in Northen Hemisphere due to Coriolis effect.
A weather front is a boundary…
separating two masses of air of different densities.
The jet stream is…
a fast flowing current of air in a narrow zone at a high altitude. The greatest speed is at the centre.
Jet streams occur where…
atmospheric pressure gradients are strong.
The jet streams are caused…
by Coriolis effect.
