atmospheric circulation

• • The global atmospheric circulation can be described as a worldwide system of winds moving heat FROM the equator TO the poles to reach a balance in temperature
• which direction does air always move and what does this generate?

  high pressure to lower pressure, generating wind
• what are winds?

  large scale movements of air due to differences in air pressure
• TRUE OR FALSE: the sun heats the earth's surface evenly

  false
• what is insolation?

  incoming solar radiation received from the sun.
• where is insolation greater?

  greater at the equator than at the poles due to the Earth's curvature and the angle of the earths tilt
• what type of air rises?

  hot
• what type of air sinks?

  cooler air
• what process allows hot air to rise/cooler air to sink?

  convection
• what 3 cells does each hemisphere have?

  hadley, ferrel and polar
• what is the largest cell?

  hadley
• what is the middle cell?

  ferrel
• what is the smallest and weakest cell?

  polar
• fill in the blanks!

  A) hadley cell

  B) hadley cell

  C) ferrel cell

  D) ferrel cell

  E) polar cell

  F) polar cell

  G) 3

  H) 1

  I) 4

  J) 2

  
• what is the coriolis effect?

  the appearance that global winds, and ocean currents curve as they move
• why is this curve?

  due to the earths rotation on its axis and this forces the winds to actually blow diagonally
• where do winds curve in the northern hemishpere?

  right
• where do winds curve in the southern hemisphere?

  left
• what happens if there is a low-pressure system?

  the winds flow in reverse
• what does the combination of pressure cells, coriolis effect and the 3 cells product?

  wind belts in each hemisphere
• • The trade winds: Blow from the subtropical high-pressure belts (30 degrees N and S) towards the Equator's low-pressure zones and are deflected by the Coriolis force
• • The westerlies: Blow from the sub-tropical high-pressure belts to the mid-latitude low areas, but again, are deflected by the Coriolis force