The book Flashcards
Ferrel cells
The flows that move toward the poles initiate a second pair of “conveyor belts,” the Ferrell or mid-latitude cells. The Ferrell cells are not as strong or consistent as the Hadley cells, but they are driven by the same processes. As the dry air in the Ferrell cells moves across the earth’s surface toward the pole, it also picks up moisture, and finally tends to rise, creating another pair of rainy and snowy low-pressure zones around 60°N and 60°S.
Prevailing wind convention
the six-cell circulation pattern imparts northerly and southerly compo- nents to prevailing wind directions: between 0° and 30°N, the Hadley cells push air from north to south; between 30°N and 60°N, the Ferrell cells push air in the opposite direction; and between 60°N and the North Pole, the polar cells impart a flow to the south.
WHere are prevailing winds strongest
The prevailing winds are strongest at the latitudes in the middles of the atmospheric cells, roughly at 15° and 45°.
Windless areas
The windless equatorial area became the “doldrums,” and the windless areas at 30° N and S became the “horse lati- tudes.”
The difference in the 40s in the north and south
around 45° S, where the prevailing westerlies grew so fierce that they became known as the Roaring Forties.In the North forties, the continents inter- rupt and dissipate the flow. We don’t speak of a northern version of the Roaring Forties.
For example, Great Britain and Labrador are at sim- ilar latitudes, but the first has mild winters while the second is frigid. why?
The difference is the Gulf Stream, a strong current that bathes the British Isles in warm water from the Caribbean.
Maritime versus continental climates
oceans also influence nearby land masses simply by providing thermal inertia
The ocean-influenced maritime climates are also buffered against temperature extremes. Continental climates, which are found more toward the centres of big land masses, lack this water- dependent buffering of temperature.
Seasonality of temperate vs tropical zone s
Seasonality in the temperate zone is first and foremost a matter of temperature differences. In the tropics, temperatures are com- paratively uniform, and seasonality is a matter of precipitation.
Where are the world’s driest deserts?”
the most extreme are located on the western coasts of continents, and each one is paired with a cold offshore current
that brings an upwelling of water from the cold depths.
Riparian vegetation
In this part of the world, and all other dry areas, permanent rivers support narrow bands of richer, taller vegetation along their banks. This is called ripari- an vegetation, or (in the dry tropics) gallery forest. In
