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Atmosphere
Key Ideas In This Chapter
Different amounts of solar energy are absorbed at different latitudes. The tropics are
warmer than the polar regions because of this difference.
Uneven solar heating causes convection currents to form in the atmosphere. The
direction of air flow in these currents is influenced by the rotation of Earth.
To observers on the surface, Earth's rotation causes moving air (or any moving
mass) in the Northern Hemisphere to curve to the right of its initial path, and in the
Southern Hemisphere to the left. The apparent curvature of path is known as the
Coriolis effect.
Each hemisphere has three large atmospheric circulation cells: a Hadley cell, a
Ferrel cell, and a polar cell. Air circulation within each cell is powered by uneven
solar heating and influenced by the Coriolis effect.
Key Ideas Continued…
Large storms are spinning areas of unstable air that develop between or within air
masses. Extratropical cyclones originate at the boundary between air masses.
Tropical cyclones, the most powerful of Earth's atmospheric storms, occur within a
single humid air mass.
The Atmosphere Is Composed Mainly of
Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Water Vapor
(above) An estimate of the heat budget for Earth. On an average day, about half of the solar
energy arriving at the upper atmosphere is absorbed at Earth’s surface. Light (short-wave)
energy absorbed at the surface is converted into heat. Heat leaves Earth as infrared (long-
wave) radiation. Since input equals output over long periods of time, the heat budget is
balanced.
© 2006 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc.
The Solar Heating of Earth Varies
with Latitude
(bottom left) The ocean does not boil away near the
equator or freeze solid near the poles because heat is
transferred by winds and ocean currents from equatorial
to polar regions.
The Solar Heating of Earth Also
Varies with the Seasons
The seasons are caused by variations in the amount of incoming solar energy as Earth
makes its annual rotation around the sun on an axis tilted by 23 ½ °. During the Northern
Hemisphere winter, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and the Northern
Hemisphere receives less light and heat. During the Northern Hemisphere summer, the
situation is reversed.
© 2006 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc.
Spring (sun aims Winter (Northern Hemisphere
directly at equator) tilts away from sun)
To
Polaris
Summer
(Northern
Hemisphere tilts
toward sun)
Fall
(sun aims
directly at
equator)
Seasonal changes in net short-wave radiation, net long-wave
radiation/sensible heat exchange, and latent heat exchange, and the
total at 35ºN 48ºW
Earth’s Uneven Solar Heating Results
in Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation
Rising
Hot warm air
Cool
As air warms, expands, and rises at the equator, it moves toward the
pole, but instead of traveling in a straight path, the air is deflected
eastward.
Global air circulation as described in the six-cell circulation model. Air rises at the equator
and falls at the poles, but instead of one great circuit in each hemisphere from equator to
pole, there are three in each hemisphere. Note the influence of the Coriolis effect on wind
direction. The circulation show here is ideal – that is, a long-term average of wind flow.
The Coriolis Effect Influences the Movement
of Air in Atmospheric Circulation Cells
Hadley cells are tropical cells found on each side of the equator.
Ferrel cells are found at the mid-latitudes.
Polar cells are found near the poles.
Doldrums are calm equatorial areas where two Hadley cells converge
Horse latitudes (subtropical highs) are areas between Hadley and Ferrel
cells.
Trade winds are surface winds of Hadley cells.
Westerlies are surface winds of Ferrel cells.
Seasonal changes in the position of the intertropical
convergence zone (ITCZ)
?
Geographical
Geographical equator
equator
The zone does not coincide with the geographical equator (0° latitude).
Instead, it lies at the meteorological equator (or thermal equator), an
irregular imaginary line of thermal equilibrium between the hemispheres,
situated about 5° north of the geographical equator.
The zone reaches its most northerly location in July and its most southerly
location in January. Because of the thermostatic effect of water, the
seasonal north–south movement is generally less over the ocean than over
land. Fig. 8-14, p. 213
Cell Circulation Centers on the
Meteorological (Not Geographical) Equator
Sea breeze is cool air from over the water moving toward land. Sea
breezes occur after sunrise.
Land breezes occur after sunset when air warmed by the land blows
toward the water.
Monsoons Are Wind Patterns That
Change with the Seasons
Core of tropical
cyclone rotating to the
left, or counterclockwise
Tropical Cyclones Form in One Air
Mass
Classification of Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclones are classified in accordance with the World
Meteorological Organization's recommendation by their maximum
sustained wind speeds near the centre. In Hong Kong, the classification
is defined in terms of wind speeds averaged over a period of 10 minutes
as follows :
The tracks of tropical cyclones. The breeding grounds of tropical cyclones are shown as
orange-shaded areas. The storms follow curving paths: First they move westward with
the trade winds. Then they either die over land or turn eastward until they lose power
over the cooler ocean of mid-latitudes. Cyclones are not spawned over the South Atlantic
or the southeast Pacific because their waters are too chilly; nor in the still air - the
doldrums - within a few degrees of the equator.
A composite of infrared satellite images of Hurricane
Georges from 18 to 28 September 1998.
The greatest natural disaster to strike the United States was the tropical cyclone
that struck Galveston, Texas on the night of 8 September 1900. The combination
of high wind, great waves, and storm surge killed about 8,000 people. Box 8-1, p. 224
The most costly natural disaster in U.S. history
Hurricane Katrina,
at Category 5,
approaches the
coasts of Louisiana
and Mississippi on
28 August 2005
In this chapter you learned that Earth and ocean are in continuous contact, and
conditions in one are certain to influence conditions in the other. The interaction
of ocean and atmosphere moderates surface temperatures, shapes the Earth’s
weather and climate, and creates most of the sea’s waves and currents.
Uneven flow of air within cells is one cause of the atmospheric changes we call
weather. Large storms are spinning areas of unstable air occurring between or
within air masses. Extratropical cyclones originate at the boundary between air
masses; tropical cyclones, the most powerful of Earth’s atmospheric storms,
occur within a single humid air mass. The immense energy of tropical cyclones
is derived from water’s latent heat of vaporization.