Oceanography Chp 5

• Lower atmosphere


  • Evenly mixed
  • Predominantly nitrogen and oxygen
  • Air has mass
• Formation of steam fog

  1. Evaporation of water vapor

  2. Saturation point reached

  3. Condenses into fog
• Atmospheric circulation


  • Solar energy reaching earth depends on angle of sun, latitude, season, transparency of atmosphere, reflectivity of surface

  
• Heat balance


  Net radiation is the balance between incoming shortwave and outgoing longwave radiation

  
• Uneven solar heating


  Drives global circulation of air
• Rotation of Earth


  Drives global circulation of air

  
• Coriolis effect

  • Deflects anything that flies or flows across Earth's surface from a straight path
  • Right in Northern Hemisphere (counterclockwise)
  • Left in Southern Hemisphere (clockwise)

  
• Coriolis effect and atmospheric cells

  1. Warm air rises at equator

  2. Loses moisture through rainfall

  3. 1/3 away from equator air becomes dense

  4. Falls back toward surface

  5. Deflected right in northern hemisphere and left in southern hemisphere

  
• Atmospheric circulation cells


  • Hadley cells (trade winds)
  • Ferrel cells (westerlies)
  • Polar cells (polar easterlies)
• Wind patterns


  • Doldrums
  • Intertropical Convergence Zone
  • Subtropical High
  • Trade winds
• Daytime patterns


  Nighttime patterns
• Storms


  • Regional atmospheric disturbances with strong winds and rain
  • Cyclones are huge rotating masses of low pressure air
  • Tornado is a smaller funnel of fast-spinning wind associated with severe thunderstorms
• Air masses


  Large body of air with uniform temperature, humidity, and density
• Formation of extratropical cyclone

  1. 2 contrasting air masses

  2. Rotates counterclockwise in northern hemisphere

  3. Move eastward
• Tropical cyclones


  • Great masses of warm, humid rotating air
  • At least 74 miles per hour
  • Sea surface temperatures at least 26 degrees celsius
  • Counterclockwise in Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in Southern Hemisphere
  • Hurricanes-Atlantic
  • Typhoon-Eastern Pacific
  • Cyclones-Western Pacific/Indian Ocean