Essentials of Meteorology An

Invitation to the Atmosphere

7th Edition Ahrens
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Chapter 6
Air Pressure and Winds

Chapter Outline

Atmospheric Pressure
Horizontal Pressure Variations— a Tale of Two Cities
Measuring Air Pressure
Focus on a Special Topic
The Atmosphere Obeys the Gas Law
Pressure Readings
Surface and Upper-Air Charts
Focus on a Special Topic
Isobaric Maps
Why the Wind Blows
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Forces That Influence the Wind
Straight-Line Flow Aloft
Focus on an Observation
Estimating Wind Direction and Pressure Patterns Aloft by Watching Clouds
Curved Winds Around Lows and Highs Aloft
Winds on Upper-Level Charts
Surface Winds
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Instructor’s Manual
 Focus on an Observation
Winds Aloft in the Southern Hemisphere
Winds and Vertical Air Motions
Determining Wind Direction and Speed
The Influence of Prevailing Winds
Wind Instruments
Focus on a Special Topic
Wind Power
Summary
Key Terms
Questions for Review
Questions for Thought and Exploration

Summary

This chapter explains how and why the wind blows. The concept of air pressure is reviewed first,
and is then developed further using the ideal gas law. The role of horizontal variations of both temperature
and pressure in causing air to move is presented next. Instruments used to measure pressure and the most
common pressure units are also discussed. Examples of meteorological charts used to display pressure
patterns, both at ground-level and aloft, are presented.

The horizontal movement of air is explained in the context of Newton's laws of motion. The
relatively simple case of air motions above the ground is studied first. Only the pressure gradient force and
the Coriolis force are needed to describe wind flow aloft. Horizontal pressure gradients initially set the air
in motion; the Coriolis force then modifies the wind's direction of motion. Winds at upper levels are shown
to blow parallel to the contour lines on an isobaric chart. When the contours lines are straight, the Coriolis
and pressure gradient forces are equal and opposite and the wind blows in a straight line at constant speed.
When the flow is curved, the resulting gradient wind forces include a centripetal component which accounts
for the changes in wind direction. Some details of these relationships, including geostrophic wind, isobaric
(constant pressure) surfaces and hydrostatic balance, are highlighted.

At ground level the frictional force acts to slow wind speeds, with the result that winds blow across
the isobars slightly toward lower pressure. This accounts for the rising and sinking air motions found in
high and low pressure centers. The resulting convergence or divergence of air motions above the ground
causes surface features to strengthen or weaken.

Teaching Suggestions, Demonstrations and Visual Aids

1. Use the University of Wyoming atmospheric sounding web site

(http://weather.uwyo.edu/upperair/sounding.html) to examine the vertical pressure gradient. The vertical
pressure gradient can be compared with pressure gradients. Initiate a discussion about why intense vertical
winds are not common, despite the strong vertical pressure gradients.

2. A one-inch-square iron bar cut approximately 53 inches long weighs 14.7 pounds. When placed
on end, the pressure at its base will be 14.7 pounds/sq.in., the same as that of the atmosphere at sea
level. The bar can be passed around class and the students are generally sur prised at how heavy it is.
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The bar can be used to motivate a discussion of the concept of density and the workings of the mercury
barometer. If the bar were constructed of mercury, it would only need to be 30 inches long. If the bar were
made of water, it would need to be close to 34 feet tall. Students should understand also why they are
not crushed by the weight of many "iron bars" pressing in on every square inch of their bodies. One
misconception that the bar might create is that pressure exerts only a downward force. The next
demonstration might help clear that up. (ref: C.E. Meloan, J. Chem. Educ., 65, 69, 1988).

3. There are a variety of "crushed-can" demonstrations. For example, put a small amount of
water into a clean, metal can. Heat the can until the water boils and then tightly seal the spout. The
can will be crushed by the weight of the atmosphere as it cools. The water is not necessary, but it enhances
the effect. A proper explanation of this demonstration requires a discussion of the ideal gas law.

4. This is a good place to illustrate and discuss current local, regional and national weather events
using actual examples of surface and upper level charts. With some experience students will be able
to locate and follow large scale troughs and ridges on the 500 mb chart and to find the associated
surface features. If possible, show the associated satellite images of cloud cover and radar depiction.
This might be an appropriate place, also, to introduce the station model notation used to plot weath er
observations on surface charts.

5. Show students a surface weather map without any isobars drawn on it. The students will
appreciate how difficult it is to assimilate the large quantity of data plotted on the map. It will not be
apparent at all what large scale weather features are present nor what is causing the observed weather
conditions. Then, show the students the same map with a completed isobaric analysis. The positions of
important high and low pressure centers will become clear immediately and their effect on the weather
conditions in their vicinity will be apparent.

6. Initiate a discussion of why alcohol or mercury is used in a barometer instead of water.

7. Students are often surprised to find that a net inward force is needed to keep an ob ject moving
in a circular path at constant speed. To illustrate this fact, attach weights to opposite ends of a 3 or 4
foot long piece of nylon cord or rope. Pass the rope through a short piece of plastic pipe. Holding the pipe,
swing one of the weights in a circle with just enough speed to begin to lift and suspend the weight
hanging from the other end of the cord. The pull of gravity on the bottom weight supplies the
centripetal force needed by the other weight moving in a circle. Ask the students what fo rce is needed
to keep a satellite in orbit around the earth?

8. A discussion of the Coriolis force will sometimes lead to a question about whether the direction
water spins when draining out of a sink or toilet bowl is different in the Southern Hemisphere than it
is in the Northern Hemisphere. The instructor can demonstrate that water can be made to rotate in
either direction when draining from a plastic soft drink bottle (ref: J. Walker, The Flying Circus of
Physics, p. 95, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1977). Another good reference for this is Prof. Alistair
Frasier’s “Bad Coriolis” web site, http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadCoriolis.html.

9. Use current weather data available on the internet to compare the sea-level pressure at two
stations separated by about 100 km, and relate the horizontal pressure gradient to the observed winds.

10. Demonstrate the difference between pressure and force by having a student lean on another student
using his/her open palm, then repeating the process using only a fingertip. Same force, different pressures.

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 Student Projects

1. Give students a simplified surface weather chart and have them perform a simple isobaric
analysis. It might be best to plot only the wind and pressure data. Once students have located centers
of high and low pressure, have them transfer the positions to a second map with additional data
(temperature, cloud cover, weather, dew point). Have students circle regions with overcast skies or
stations that are reporting precipitation. Are the stormy regions associated with high or low pressure?

2. Have students plot daily average pressure and observed weather condition for several weeks.
Are stormy periods well correlated with lower-than-average pressures?

3. Determine the direction of upper-level winds by observing mid-level cloud motions. Have students
draw the orientation of contour lines that would produce the observed motion and then compare their
sketch with an actual upper-air chart.

4. Have students find examples of weather reports and weather maps from other countries from
the web, or from the foreign newspaper collection at the university or local library. Students should
attempt to find at least one example from a city in the Southern Hemisphere.

5. Atmospheric pressure and surface wind measurements are discussed in two articles by J.T.
Snow, M.E. Akridge, and S.B. Harley (refs: "Basic Meteorological Observations for Schools:
Atmospheric Pressure," Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 73, 781-794, 1992; "Basic Meteorological
Measurements for Schools: Surface Winds," ibid, 7, 493-508, 1989). The articles give examples of
high-quality instrumentation available commercially and contain plans for simpler instruments that
students could construct and operate. A few suggestions for related student and class projects are also
included.

Answers to Questions for Review

1. Because as altitude increases, there is always less air above you (because more of it is below you).

2. By changing the mass of the air in the column.

3. In the colder, denser air, the pressure decreases rapidly with height because you climb above large
numbers of molecules as you increase your altitude.

4. 1013.25 mb or 29.92 in. Hg or 1013.25 hPa.

5. A mercury barometer consists of a long glass tube open at one end and closed at the other.
Removing air from the tube and covering the open end, the lower portion of the tube is immersed into a
dish of mercury. The column of mercury in the tube balances the weight of the air above the dish, and hence
the height of the column is a measure of atmospheric pressure.

6. An aneroid barometer houses a small, flexible metal box called an aneroid cell. Before the cell is
tightly sealed, air is partially removed, so that small changes in external air pressure cause the cell to expand

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or contract.

7. Station pressure is the atmospheric pressure at the elevation of the weather station. Sea-level
pressure is the station pressure the weather station would have if the station were located at sea level. The
two would be the same if the station were located at sea level.

8. Because Denver is at a much higher elevation than Chicago.

9. Lines on a weather map connecting points of equal pressure.

10. Warm air aloft is associated with high pressure; cold air aloft is associated with low pressure.

11. Newton’s first law of motion states that an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion
will remain in motion (and travel at a constant velocity along a straight line) as long as no force is exerted
on the object. So, to start air moving, to speed it up, to slow it down, or even to change its direction requires
the action of an external force. Newton’s second law states that the force exerted on an object equals its
mass times the acceleration produced. From this relationship we can see that, when the mass of an object
is constant, the force acting on the object is directly related to the acceleration that is produced.

12. It indicates a rapid change in pressure over a relatively short distance. On a surface weather chart
the isobars would be closely-spaced.

13. Pressure-gradient force.

14. Closely-spaced isobars indicate a strong pressure gradient, and strong pressure gradients cause
strong winds.

15. a. Deflects it to the right. b. Deflects it to the left.

16. a. Increasing wind speed increases the Coriolis force. b. Increasing latitude increases the Coriolis
force.

17. In the Northern Hemisphere, the pressure gradient force directed northward starts the air moving
toward lower pressure. Once the air is set in motion, the Coriolis force bends it to the right until it
is a west wind, blowing parallel to the isobars. In the Southern Hemisphere, the pressure gradient force
directed southward starts the air moving south. But notice that the Coriolis force in the Southern
Hemisphere bends the moving air to its left, until the wind is blowing parallel to the isobars from the west.
Hence, in the middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres, we generally find westerly winds aloft.

18. A geostrophic wind is a wind that results from a balance between the Coriolis force and the pressure
gradient force. It blows parallel to the height contours on an upper-level map, with higher values to the right
(with the wind at your back).

19. Pressure-gradient force, Coriolis force, friction, centripetal force.

20. In the northern hemisphere: Highs have a clockwise circulation aloft, lows have a counter-
clockwise circulation aloft. At the surface, the direction of the circulation is the same as aloft but the winds
tend to cross the isobars toward lower pressures. In the southern hemisphere: Highs have a counter-
clockwise circulation aloft, lows have a clockwise circulation aloft. At the surface, the direction of the
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circulation is the same as aloft but the winds tend to cross the isobars toward lower pressures.

21. Meridional wind-flow occurs when wind flows in large, looping meanders, following a more or less
north-south trajectory (such as along the west coast of North America. Whereas the winds blowing in a
west-to-east direction (such as over the eastern third of the United States), the flow is termed zonal.

22. East of you.

23. Because of the influence of friction.

24. Because of hydrostatic balance: the downward force of gravity balances the upward vertical
pressure gradient force.

25. Wind vane: a long arrow with a tail, which is allowed to move freely about a vertical post. Cup
anemometer: three (or more) hemispherical cups (cup anemometer) mounted on a vertical shaft. The
difference in wind pressure from one side of a cup to the other causes the cups to spin about the shaft. The
rate at which theyrotate is directly proportional to the speed of the wind. The spinning of the cups is usually
translated into wind speed through a system of gears, and may be read from a dial or transmitted to a
recorder. Aerovane: an instrument that indicates both wind speed and direction. It consists of a bladed
propeller that rotates at a rate proportional to the wind speed. Its streamlined shape and a vertical fin keep
the blades facing into the wind. When attached to a recorder, a continuous record of both wind speed and
direction is obtained.

26. Wind vane: Most wind vanes consist of a long arrow with a tail, which is allowed to move freely
about a vertical post. The arrow always points into the wind and, hence, always gives the wind direction.
Wind vanes can be made of almost any material. Cup anemometer: Most anemometers consist of three (or
more) hemispherical cups (cup anemometer) mounted on a vertical shaft as shown in Fig. 6.27. The
difference in wind pressure from one side of a cup to the other causes the cups to spin about the shaft. The
rate at which they rotate is directly proportional to the speed of the wind. The spinning of the cups is
usually translated into wind speed through a system of gears, and may be read from a dial or transmitted
to a recorder. Aerovane: an instrument that indicates both wind speed and direction. It consists of a bladed
propeller that rotates at a rate proportional to the wind speed. Its streamlined shape and a vertical fin keep
the blades facing into the wind. When attached to a recorder, a continuous record of both wind speed and
direction is obtained. Radiosonde: an instrument package, carried aloft by a balloon, designed to measure
the vertical profile of temperature, pressure, and humidity. Satellite: measures surface winds above the
ocean by observing the roughness of the sea. Wind profiler: Doppler radar has been employed to obtain a
vertical profile of wind speed and direction up to an altitude of 16 km or so above the ground. Such a
profile is called a wind sounding, and the radar, a wind profiler (or simply a profiler) Doppler radar, like
conventional radar, emits pulses of microwave radiation that are returned (backscattered) from a target, in
this case the irregularities in moisture and temperature created by turbulent, twisting eddies that move
with the wind. Doppler radar works on the principle that, as these eddies move toward or away from the
receiving antenna, the returning radar pulse will change in frequency. The Doppler radar wind profilers
are so sensitive that they can translate the backscattered energy from these eddies into a vertical picture of
wind speed and direction in a column of air 16 km (10 mi) thick.

27. Southwest.

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 Answers to Questions for Thought and Exploration
1. Inside the refrigerator, the temperature of the air inside the balloon will decrease. The Gas Law
requires that the air pressure inside the balloon must also decrease. (The air density inside the balloon
will also increase slightly.)

2. Sure, if the station was located below sea-level. (One example would be Death Valley,
California.)

3. Other forces combine with the pressure gradient force to change the direction of the wind.

4. On a frictionless surface the winds around a surface low would blow parallel to curved isobars
with the PGF directed inward and the Coriolis force directed outward. However, frictions slows the wind,
which reduces the Coriolis force. Because of the stronger PGF, the winds blow inward across the isobars
toward lower pressure, giving the appearance that the winds are being deflected to the left. The inwardly
directed force is stronger.

5. The barometer would record 'station pressure' rather than 'sea-level pressure'. When the pressure
drops as you ascend the hill, the barometer would display the low pressure, or 'stormy weather' region of
the dial.

6. High pressures and high temperatures are associated with high heights on an isobaric surface,
while low pressures and low temperatures are associated with low heights. When flying from high
pressure and warm air into a region of low pressure and cold air, without changing the altimeter setting,
the altimeter (which measures pressure and indicates altitude) will indicate an altitude higher than the
aircraft is flying. Because the aircraft is flying lower than indicated, it is wise to look out below for
obstructions such as mountains and hills.

7. The wind would blow directly from regions of higher pressure toward regions of lower pressure.

8. The frictional effect of the water is less. Consequently, with the same PGF the winds are
stronger, the Coriolis force is stronger, and the winds blow more nearly parallel to the isobars.

9. As the west to east moving high pressure area moved east it would cause the wind to change direction
as the pressure gradient would drive wind transport to the east. The high pressure system must have past
north as that would explain why the wind also eventually shifted toward the south as the high pressure
system moved by to the north the north south pressure gradient would also increase, causing the wind
direction to move more southward toward the low pressure area.

10. By illustrating the wind flow patterns around a high pressure area and moving the high from west
to east, north of your location.

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