Wind Currents Flashcards
Convection cells
zones of latitude where air rises and falls
coriolis effect
the movement of objects moving up or down in longitude not connected to the ground due to the movement of the Earth
easterlies
blow from east to west in the equatorial region, mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere; used by sailors for centuries to travel across the oceans, and helped establish trade routes and European colonization of the Americas.
westerlies
Westerlies blow from the west at midlatitudes. They are strongest in the winter and weakest in the summer. The westerlies are fed by polar easterlies and winds from the horse latitudes. The westerlies cause ocean currents on the western boundary of an ocean basin to be stronger than those on the eastern boundary.
polar easterlies
blow from the east and are dry and cold. They originate from the polar highs, which are areas of high pressure around the North and South Poles.
how is solar energy acquired and transferred by living organism?
photosynthesis & cellular respiration
Co2+H2O+energy -> CH2O+O2 & CH2O+O2 -> CO2+H2O
Warm fronts
Large masses of air that bring warmer air temps
Cold fronts
Large masses of air that bring colder air temps
Where are most thunderstorms produced?
as in, which wind conditions
along cold front boundaries; as dense cold air sinks, it pushes the warmer air up, this warm air will might be unstable and as it rises it produces thunderheads that produce thunderstorms
Atmospheric pressure
affects weather; high pressure is usually sunny/warm; low pressure is usually cloudy/stormy
heavily simplified for APES
How is heat and moisture distributed over the earth’s surface?
By vertical air currents that form six large convection cells
Polar cells
cold air, flowing from the poles, 60-90 o North and South of the equator
Ferrel cells
acts as a gear cell, between 30-60 o north and south of the
equator
Hadley cells
between equator and 30 o north and
south of the equator; responsible
for the great rainforests AND deserts on Earth.
Why do east and west winds occur?
Earth’s rotation generates the coriolis effect; makes wind systems twist counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere
