weather cycle Flashcards
global atmospheric circulation
the movement of air around the earth to try and balance the temperature
insolation
the heat enegy from the sun
ITCZ
inter-tropical convergence zone
where two Hadley cells meet
characterised by low pressure, rising warm air, dense cloud cover and lots of precipitaion
wind
movement of air from high to low pressure
tropical storm
powerful rotating storm also known as hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons, depending on where they occur
windspeeds of over 120km/h
can be 650km across
have life cycles of 6-14 days
where do tropical storms occur
between the tropics of cancer and capricorn, between 5 and 30 degrees north and south of the equator
name the 3 cells
polar cell, Ferrel cell, Hadley cell
dredging
removing silt at the bottom of a river to increase water capacity and prevent flooding
how tropical storms occur
upwards movement of air draws water vapour from the ocean surface
this evapourated air cools as it rises and condenses to form cumulonimbus clouds
as the air condenses it releases heat which powers the storm and draws up more and more water from the ocecan
other thunderstorms join together to make a giant storm
the storm develops an eye where air decends rapidly
the storm is carried by prevailing winds
on reaching land, the storms energy supply (water) is cut off and friction from the land slows it down
storm surge
rise in the sea levels as the high winds push the sea up and towards the coastline
causes extensive flooding of tropical storms
countries that were hit by typhoon haiyan
phillipines, taiwan, china
deaths in typhoon haiyan
6300
typhoon haiyan damage costs
$16 billion
people displaced in typhoon haiyan
600 000
technology used to predict tropical storms
sattelites
