Chapter 18:

Understanding Air Pressure:

 Air pressure: the pressure exerted by the weight of air above, 1kg/cm2 or 14.7 psi at sea
level; the force exerted against a surface by the continuous collision of gas molecules
o Measuring:
 Measured in millibars (mb) -> reported in inches of mercury
 1013.2 mb at sea level
 Measured with a mercury barometer: using a column of mercury in a
glass tube sealed at one end and inverted in a dish of mercury, it
measures atmospheric pressure based on the height of the column of
mercury in the barometer
 As air pressure increases, the mercury in the tube rises, vice versa
 Barometer readings and weather:
 Falling pressure -> increased cloudiness and chance of
precipitation
 Rising pressure -> clearing conditions

Factors Affecting Wind

 Wind: the result of horizontal differences in air pressure; air flows from areas of higher
pressure to areas of lower pressure
o Unequal heating of Earth’s surface generates pressure differences, wind is
nature’s attempt to balance inequalities in pressure -> solar radiation is the
ultimate energy source for most wind
o Controlled by a combination of 3 factors:
 Pressure gradient force: results from pressure differences, the primary
force that drives wind, depicted by the spacing of isobars (line connecting
areas of equal pressure) on a map; forces wind to cross isobars at right
angles
 Closely spaced isobars indicate a steep pressure gradient and
strong winds, widely spaced isobars indicate a week pressure
gradient and light winds
 Coriolis effect: deviation of the direction of wind as a result of Earth’s
rotation; proportional to wind speed
 Fluids are deflected to the right of their path of motion in the
northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere
o CCW rotation of northern hemisphere -> deflection of
rocket to the right of its path of motion
o CW rotation of southern hemisphere -> deflection of
rocket to the left of its path of motion
 Deflection 1) is always directed at right angles to the direction of
airflow, 2) affects only wind direction, not speed, 3) is affected by
 wind speed (stronger wind is deflected more), 4) is strongest at
the poles and negligible at the equator
 Friction: acts to slow air movement and therefore alters wind direction
 The pressure gradient force and the Coriolis effect work together
above the friction layer -> pgf causes air to move across isobars,
Coriolis acts at right angles to the motion -> pgf and Coriolis
balance and wind will blow parallel to the isobars
o This happens with upper-air winds: geostrophic winds
 Can travel faster as a result of no friction with earth
o Jet stream: feature of upper-level flow, fast moving ‘rivers’
of air, above 600m so avoid complications from friction
 Coriolis effect is proportional to wind speed and
friction lowers speed so decrease coriolis effect;
pgf independent of wind speed -> pgf wins and air
moves at an angle across the isobars toward the
area of lower pressure
 Angle is dependent on roughness of terrain:
o Smooth ocean: low friction, small
angle
o Rugged terrain: high friction, angle
across isobars as great as 45°

Highs and Lows

 Pressure centers
o Cyclones (lows): centers of low pressure; pressure decreases from outer isobars
to center
o Anticyclones (highs): high center pressures
 Application of pgf and Coriolis to pressure centers:
o Northern hemisphere:
 Low: winds blow inward and CCW
 High: winds blow outward and CW
o Southern hemisphere:
 Low: winds blow CW
 High: winds blow CCW
o Either hemisphere—friction causes:
 Low: net inflow (convergence)
 High: net outflow (divergence)
 Weather generalizations about highs and lows:
 Air rises and cools adiabatically in a low-pressure center so cloudy
conditions are precipitation are common
 In a high-pressure center, descending air is compressed and warmed so
cloud formation and precipitation are unlikely in an anticyclone and fair
weather is expected
General Circulation of the Atmosphere
 Cause of wind: unequal heating of the Earth’s surface
o More radiation received and radiated back to space in tropical regions
o Less solar energy received than lost in polar regions
o Atmosphere moves warm air poleward and cools are equatorward to balance
differences in solar radiation
 Circulation on nonrotating Earth:
o Upper-level warm air flowing poleward and spreading out and surface air flowing
equatorward; two large thermal cells
o Rotating will cause more, smaller cells
 3 pairs of cells
 Largest: Hadley cells
o At equator: warmer, less dense air rises and spreads under
the tropopause (lid to lower atmosphere with weather).
Warm air spreads toward poles, gradually cooling and
sinking as it moves. Before descending to surface and
going back to equator
 Smallest: polar cells
o Cold, dense air descending in polar regions flows at low
levels. As leaves polar regions it warms and rises and
returns to the poles at high levels
 Between: Ferrell cells
o Not driven by temperature, flow in the opposite direction
of the Hadley and polar cells. Transport heat from equator
to poles and result in semi-permanent areas of high and
low pressure -> our climatic zones
 Air rising -> area of low pressure is created -> a lot
of rainfall
 Why largest areas of rainforest are near the
equator, why UK has wet climate
 Air descending -> area of high-pressure forms ->
clear skies, little rainfall -> desert regions, not all
hot (Antarctica)
 Idealized global circulation:
o Equatorial low: pressure zone near the equator associated with the rising air;
region of ascending moist, hot air with abundant precipitation
 Low pressure -> where winds from north and south converge -> also
called intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)
o Diverging upper-level flow from equatorial low reaches 20-30° -> sinks back to
surface -> subsidence and adiabatic heating produce hot, arid conditions
 Subtropical high: encircles globe near 30° latitude N and S
 o At the surface, airflow is outward from the center of the subtropical high ->
some air goes equatorward and is deflected by the Coriolis effect, which makes
trade winds; the rest travels poleward and is also deflected and makes westerlies
o As westerlies move poleward, they encounter cool polar easterlies in the region
of the subpolar low
 Warm + cold interaction produces storm belt known as the polar front
 Source region for variable polar easterlies is the polar high where cold
polar air is subsiding and spreading equatorward
o Summary: 4 pressure zones
 Subtropical and polar highs are areas of dry subsiding air that flows
outward at the surface, producing the prevailing winds
 Low pressure zones of the equatorial and subpolar regions are associated
with inward and upward airflow accompanied by clouds and precipitation
 Influence of continents:
o Subpolar low in southern hemisphere is the only truly continuous pressure belt
because it is uninterrupted by land
o Circulation over oceans is dominated by semi-permanent cells of high pressure in
the subtropics and low pressure over the subpolar regions
 Subtropical highs responsible for trade winds and westerlies

Local Winds
 Local winds: small-scale winds produced by a locally generated pressure gradient
(topographic effects of variations in surface composition)
 Land and see breezes:
o Coastal areas during warm summer -> land heated faster than adjacent water ->
air above land heats, expands, and rises -> forms an area of lower pressure ->
sea breeze develops because cooler air over the water (higher pressure) moves
toward the warmer land (lower pressure) -> like lake effect, strongest in mid-
afternoon
 Night: reverse happens
 Land cools faster than sea -> land breeze develops
 Mountain and valley breezes:
o Air along slopes of mountains heats more than the valley floor during the day ->
warm air is less dense so glides up along mountain slopes and generates valley
breeze -> cumulus clouds that develop on adjacent mountain peaks
o After sunset the pattern can reverse
 Fast cooling along mountain slopes makes a layer of cooler air next to the
ground -> cool air is denser than warm air so it drains downslope into the
valley -> mountain breeze
 Chinook and Santa Ana Winds
o Warm, dry wind moving down eastern mountain slopes: chinooks
 Created when strong pressure gradient develops in mountainous region
  Air descend leeward slopes of mountain -> is heated adiabatically
(compression) -> condensation probably occurred when it ascended the
windward side releasing latent heat -> air descending leeward slope will
be warmer and drier than it was at the same elevation on the windward
side

Measuring Wind
 Direction
 Speed
o Cup anemometer

El Nino, La Nina, and the Southern Oscillation

 El Niño: episodes of ocean warming in the eastern pacific along the coasts of Ecuador
and Peru; associated with weak trade winds, a strong eastward-moving equatorial
countercurrent, a weakened Peru current, and diminished upwelling along the western
margin of South America
 La Niña: associated with colder-than-average surface temperatures in the eastern
pacific; linked to strong trade winds, a strong westward-moving equatorial current, and
a strong Peru Current with significant coastal upwelling
 Both of these events are a part of the global circulation and are related to a seesaw
pattern of atmospheric pressure between the eastern and western pacific called the
southern oscillation
o The two events influence the weather on both sides of the tropical pacific ocean
as well as weather in the US

Global Distribution of Precipitation

 General features can be explained by global winds and pressure systems
 In general:
o Regions influenced by high pressure, with its associated subsidence and
divergent winds, experience dry conditions
o Regions under the influence of low pressure, with its converging winds and
ascending air, receive ample precipitation
 Air temperature, the distribution of continents and the ocean, and the location of
mountains also influence the distribution of precipitation

Chapter 19
Air Masses
 Air mass: large mass of air 1600km across characterized by a sameness of temperature
and moisture at any given altitude; when moves out of its source region it carries these
conditions somewhere else
 Classified according to nature and latitude of the surface in the source region
 o Continental (C): air mass of land origin, likely dry air
o Maritime (m): originates over water -> relatively humid
o Polar (p) and arctic (a): originate in high latitudes and are cold
o Tropical (t): form in low latitudes and are warm
 4 main types: continental polar (cP), continental tropical (cT), maritime polar (mP),
maritime tropical (mT)
o cP and mT influence weather of north America
 mT responsible for rain in eastern 2/3 of US

Fronts
 Fronts: boundary surfaces that separate air masses of different densities, one usually
warmer and more humid than the other
o As one air mass moves into another, the warmer less dense air mass is forced
aloft in a process called overrunning
 Warm Front: warm air mass overrides a retreating mass of cooler air; as the warm air
ascends it cools adiabatically to produce clouds and frequently light to moderate
precipitation over a large area
 Cold Front: forms where cold air is actively advancing into a region occupied by warmer
air; about twice as steep as and move more rapidly than warm front -> precipitation
along a cold front is generally more intense and of shorter duration that precipitation
associated with a warm front

Midlatitude Cyclones
 Primary weather in these zones is large centers of low pressure that generally travel
from west to east called midlatitude cyclones
o Bearers of stormy weather with CCW circulation in the northern hemisphere
with an inward flow of air toward their centers
 Most have a cold front and frequently a warm front extending from the central area of
low pressure
o Convergence and forceful lifting along the fronts initiate cloud development and
usually precipitation
 Particular weather experienced by an area depends on the cyclone’s path
 Guided by west to east moving jet streams -> cyclones move eastward across the US
o Airflow aloft (convergence and divergence) plays an important role in maintain
cyclonic and anticyclonic circulation
 In cyclones, divergence aloft supports the inward flow at the surface

Thunderstorms
 Caused by the upward movement of warm, moist, unstable air
o Associated with cumulonimbus clouds that generate heavy rainfall, lightning,
thunder, and sometimes hail/tornadoes
  Air-mass thunderstorms in maritime tropical (mT) air during spring and summer in
middle latitudes
o 3 stages of development: cumulus -> mature -> dissipating

Tornadoes
 Tornado: violent windstorm that takes the form of a rotating column of air called a
vortex that extends downward from a cumulonimbus cloud
o Many strong ones have smaller internal vortices
o Maximum winds up to 480kph
 Most often along the cold front of a midlatitude cyclone or with a supercell
thunderstorm; form with tropical cyclones (hurricanes)
o April through June in US most often, but can happen any time
 Most damage caused by the winds, measured by scales
o Enhanced Fujita: rating determined by assessing damage produced by the storm
 Thunderstorms/Tornadoes are small and short-lived so hardest to forecast precisely
o Tornado watch when weather conditions favor the formation of tornadoes
o Tornado warning when a tornado has been sighted in an area or is indicated on
Doppler radar

Hurricanes
 Hurricanes: greatest storms on Earth, tropical cyclones with wind speeds in excess of
119kph, develop over tropical ocean waters and are fueled by the latent heat that is
liberated when huge quantities of water vapor condense
 Form most often in late summer -> when ocean surface temperatures reach 27°C or
higher and are therefore able to provide the heat and moisture to the air
 Diminish in intensity when move over cool ocean water that can’t supply enough heat
and moisture OR move onto land OR reach a place where large-scale flow aloft isn’t
enough
 Safir-Simpson Scale: ranks the relative intensities of hurricanes
o 5 on scale: strongest storm possible
o 1: lowest severity
o Damage divided into:
 1) storm surge
 2) wind damage
 3) heavy rains and inland flooding

Chapter 20
The Climate System
 Climate: the aggregate of weather conditions for a place or region over a long period of
time
 Earth’s climate system involves:
 o Exchanges of energy and moisture that occur among the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, solid Earth, biosphere, and cryosphere

World Climates
 Most important elements of climate descriptions are:
o Temperature
o Precipitation
 Koppen Classification: uses mean monthly and annual values of temperature and
precipitation
o Boundaries based on limits of certain pant associations
o 5 principle climate groups, each with subdivisions, defined on the basis of
temperature characteristics (besides B which is based primarily on precipitation):
 A: Humid Tropical Climates
 Winterless, with all months having a mean temperature of 18°C
 Wet tropical (Af, Am): lie near the equator, constantly high
temperatures, enough rainfall to support rain forests,
 Tropical wet and dry (Aw) found poleward of the wet tropics and
equatorward of the subtropical deserts (where the rain forest
gives way to tropical grasslands and scattered drought-tolerant
trees of the savanna)
 Most distinctive feature: seasonal character of the rainfall
 B: Dry Climates
 Yearly precipitation is less than the potential loss of water by
evaporation
 Subdivided into two types:
o Arid/Desert (BW):
o Semiarid/Steppe (BS): marginal and more humid variant of
arid
 Low-latitude deserts and steppes coincide with clear skies caused
by subsiding air beneath the subtropical high-pressure belts
 Mid-latitude deserts and steppes exist because of their position in
the deep interiors of large landmasses far removed from the
ocean
o Generally occupy sites on the leeward sides of mountain ->
also known as rain shadow deserts
 C and D: Humid Middle-Latitude Climates
 C: middle-latitude climates with mild winters, occur where the
average temperature of the coldest month is below 18°C but
above -3°C
o 3 subgroups:
 Humid subtropical climate (Cfa): on eastern sides
of the continents (25-40 latitude); hot and sultry
summer, mild winters
  Marine west coast climate (Cfb, Cfe): extends from
near US-Canada border northward as a narrow belt
into southern Alaska; prevalence of of maritime air
masses -> mild winters, cool summers
 Dry-summer subtropical climates (Csa, Csb): along
the west sides of continents between 30-45
latitudes; summers are stable and dry conditions
associated with oceanic subtropical highs; winters
within range of cyclonic storms of the polar front
 D: humid middle-latitude climates with severe winters, land-
controlled, absent in the southern hemisphere, average temp of
coldest month is -3°C and warmest is over 10°C
o Humid continental climates (Dfa, Dfb, Dwa, Dwb): confined
to the eastern portions of North America and Eurasia in
40-50°N latitude; winter and summer temperatures
severe, greater precipitation in summer than winter
o Subarctic climates (Dfc, Dfd, Dwc, Dwd): north of the
humid continental climates and south of the polar tundras;
dominance of winter, short but very warm summers;
highest temperature ranges on Earth
 E: Polar Climates
 ET, EF: warmest temp is below 10°C, extreme annual temperature
ranges, lowest means on planet; humid but meager precipitation
with some areas with less than 10in annually
o ET: Tundra Climate
 Almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere;
10°C summer isotherm represents equatorward
limit; treeless region of grasses, sedges, mosses,
and lichens with permanently frozen subsoil called
permafrost
o EF: Ice Cap Climate
 No monthly mean above 0°C, growth of vegetation
is prohibited, landscape is permanent ice and snow
 Ex: Greenland, Antarctica

Highland Climates
 Great diversity of climatic conditions over small area
 Increase altitude -> lower temperatures, greater precipitation to do lifting
 Variety and changeability
 Fluctuating atmospheric conditions with altitude and exposure to sun rays -> limitless
variety of local climates in mountainous regions
Human Impact on Global Climate
 Burning vegetation, allowing domestic animals to overgraze the land -> climatic factors
such as surface albedo, evaporation rates, and surface winds have been modified
 Human activities produce climate change by releasing CO2 and trace gases
o When cutting down forests, burning fossil fuels
 More than half CO2 released by humans is absorbed by new plant matter or dissolved in
oceans
o 45% in atmosphere -> influences climate for decades
o 30% more in the atmosphere now than in the past 800k years
 We know this from air bubbles trapped in glacial ice
 Extra heat retained by added CO2 -> Earth’s atmosphere has warmed by 0.8°C in the
past 100 years and will increase by another 2-4.5°C in the future
 Trace gases (methane, nitrous oxide, CFCs) also play a large role
 Aerosols: tiny liquid and solid particles suspended in the air
o Produced by human and natural sources and affect global climate
o Reflect some of incoming solar radiation back to space -> have cooling effect
o Some, called black carbon, absorb incoming solar radiation and warm the
atmosphere
 When deposited on snow and ice, it reduces surface albedo and increases
the amount of light absorbed at the surface

Climate-Feedback Mechanisms
 Change in one part of climate system -> triggers changes in other parts that amplify or
diminish the initial effect
o Climate feedback mechanisms
 Positive if reinforce the initial change
 Ex: Melting of sea ice due to global warming (decreasing albedo ->
increasing initial effect of warming)
 Negative if counteract the initial effect
 Ex: production of more clouds (blotting out incoming solar
radiation -> cooling)

Some Possible Consequences of Global Warming

 Earth’s surface temperature is likely to keep increasing in the future
o Will be greatest in polar regions, least in tropics
o Some areas will get drier, some will get wetter
 Sea level is predicted to rise because:
o Melting of glacial ice and thermal expansion (given mass of sweater takes up
more volume when warm than when cool)
 Low-lying gently sloped coastal areas are at most risk
 The extent and thickness of sea ice in the Arctic have been declining since 1979
 Warming of the Arctic -> melting permafrost -> CO2 and methane released to
atmosphere -> positive feedback loop
 Climate system is complicated, dynamic, imperfectly understood -> could produce
sudden, unexpected changes with little warning