Geosystems An Introduction to

Physical Geography Updated Canadian

4th Edition Christopherson Solutions
Manual
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Key Learning Concepts for Chapter 6
The following learning concepts help guide the
student’s reading and comprehension efforts.
The operative word is in italics. These are
included in each chapter of Geosystems. The
student is told: “after reading the chapter you
should be able to”:
• Define the concept of air pressure, and
describe instruments used to measure air
pressure.
• Define wind, and explain how wind is
measured, how wind direction is determined,
and how winds are named.
• Explain the four driving forces within the
atmosphere—gravity, pressure gradient force,
Coriolis force, and friction force—and locate the
primary high- and low-pressure areas and
principal winds.
• Describe upper-air circulation, and define the
jet streams.
• Explain the regional monsoons and several
types of local winds.
• Sketch the basic pattern of Earth’s major
surface ocean currents and deep thermohaline
circulation.
• Summarize several multi-year oscillations of
air temperature, air pressure, and circulation
associated with the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific
Oceans.
Overview
We begin with a discussion of wind essentials,
including air pressure and the measurement of
wind. We examine the driving forces that
produce and determine the speed and direction
of surface winds: pressure gradients, the
Coriolis force, and friction. We then look at the
circulation of Earth’s atmosphere, including the
43
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
Atmospheric and
Oceanic Circulations
principal pressure systems, patterns of global
6
surface winds, upper atmosphere winds,
monsoons, and local winds. Finally, we consider
Earth’s wind-driven oceanic currents and explain
multi-year oscillations in atmospheric and
oceanic flows. The energy driving all this
movement comes from one source: the Sun.
Earth’s atmospheric circulation is an
important transfer mechanism for both energy
and mass. In the process, the energy imbalance
between equatorial surpluses and polar deficits
is partly resolved, Earth’s weather patterns are
generated, and ocean currents are produced.
Human-caused pollution also is spread
worldwide by this circulation, far from its points
of origin. In this chapter we examine the
dynamic circulation of Earth’s atmosphere that
carried Tambora’s debris and Chernobyl’s fallout
worldwide and carries the everyday ingredients
oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapour
around the globe. We also consider Earth’s
wind-driven oceanic currents.
The keys to this chapter are in several
integrated figures: the three forces interacting to
produce surface wind patterns and winds aloft
(Figure 6.8), and the buildup to general
atmospheric circulation patterns (Figure 6.10) to
produce geostrophic winds, Rossby waves, and
the jet stream (Figures 6.12, 6.13, and 6.14).
The systems organization assists the student to
build one concept upon another in this chapter.
As before, a list of key learning concepts
begins the chapter and is used to organize the
Summary and Review section, with definitions,
key terms and page numbers, and review
questions grouped under each objective. At the
beginning of each chapter a section titled “In
This Chapter” introduces the chapter’s content
in a succinct statement.
Outline Headings and Key Terms
The first-, second-, and third-order headings that
divide Chapter 6 serve as an outline. The key
terms and concepts that appear boldface in the
text are listed here under their appropriate
heading in bold italics. All these highlighted
terms appear in the text glossary. Note the
check-off box () so you can mark class
progress.
The outline headings and terms for
Chapter 6:
Geosystems Now: Ocean currents
invasive species
Wind Essentials
Air Pressure
 air pressure
Pressure Relationships
Air Pressure Measurement
 mercury barometer
 aneroid barometer
Wind: Description and
Measurement
 wind
 anemometer
 wind vane
Driving Forces Within the
Atmosphere
Pressure Gradient Force
 pressure gradient force
 isobar
Coriolis Force
 Coriolis force
Coriolis Force Example
Distribution and Significance
Friction Force
 friction force
Summary of Physical Forces on Winds
 geostrophic winds
High- and Low-Pressure Systems
 anticyclone
 cyclone
Atmospheric Patterns of Motion
Primary Pressure Areas and
Associated Winds
 equatorial low
 polar highs
 subtropical highs
 subpolar lows
Equatorial Low (or ITCZ):
Warm and Rainy
 intertropical conver-
gence zone (ITCZ)
Trade Winds
 trade winds
Subtropical Highs: Hot and Dry
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
 Bermuda high
 Azores high
 Pacific high
Westerlies
 westerlies
Subpolar Lows: Cool and Moist
 Aleutian low
 Icelandic low
bring  polar front
Polar Highs: Frigid and Dry
 polar easterlies
 Antarctic high
Upper Atmospheric Circulation
 constant isobaric
surface
Rossby Waves
 Rossby waves
Jet Streams
 jet streams
Monsoonal Winds
 monsoon
The Asian Monsoon Pattern
Human Influences on the Asian
Monsoon
Local Winds
 land and sea breezes
 mountain-valley
breezes
 Katabatic winds
Oceanic Currents
Surface Currents
Examples of Gyre Circulation
Equatorial Currents
 western intensification
Upwelling and Downwelling Flows
 upwelling current
 downwelling current
Thermohaline Circulation –
The Deep Currents
 thermohaline
circulation
Natural Oscillations in Global Circulation
El Niño–Southern Oscillation
 El Niño–Southern
Oscillation
El Niño—ENSO’s Warm
Phase
La Niña—ENSO’s Cool
Phase
Pacific Decadal Oscillation
North Atlantic and Arctic Oscillations
44
The Human Denominator 6 Global
Circulation
Geosystems Connection
A Quantitative Solution Wind Regimes
Key Learning Concepts Review
Mastering Geography
Visual Analysis 6 Atmospheric Circulation
Focus Studies, Critical Thinking, Geo
Reports and Geosystems in Action
Focus Study 6.1: Wind Power: an Energy
Resource for the Present and Future
Critical Thinking 6.1: Measure the wind
Critical Thinking 6.2: What causes the north
Australian monsoon?
Critical Thinking 6.3: Construct your own wind-
power assessment report
Geo Report 6.1: Blowing in the wind
Geo Report 6.2: Pressure changes in an
airplane cabin
Geo Report 6.3: Coriolis: not a force on sinks,
or toilets
Geo Report 6.4: Icelandic ash caught in the jet
stream
Geo Report 6.5: 2010–2011 La Niña breaks
records
• marinedebris.noaa.gov/tsunamidebris
Thermohaline Circulation research:
• sio.ucsd.edu/
• www.whoi.edu/
ENSO:
• www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/enso/
• www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga-tao/el-nino/
nino-home.html
Australia monsoon:
• www.environment.gov.au/soe/2001/
publications/theme-reports/atmosphere/
atmosphere02-1.html
Pacific Decadal Oscillation:
• www.nc-
climate.ncsu.edu/climate/patterns/
PDO.html
North Atlantic Oscillation:
• www.ncdc.noaa.gov/teleconnections/nao/
Arctic Oscillation:
• nsidc.org/arcticmet/patterns/arctic_oscillatio
n.html
Canadian Weather Energy and Engineering
Datasets (CWEEDS):
ftp://ftp.tor.ec.gc.ca/Pub/Engineering_Climate_D
ataset/Canadian_Weather_Energy_Engineering
_Dataset_CWEEDS_2005/ZIPPED%20FILES/E
NGLISH/ONTARIO.zip
Lakes Environmental:
www.weblakes.com/products/wrplot/index.html

Geosystems in Action 6 Atmospheric

Circulation
Annotated Chapter Review Questions

URLs listed in Chapter 6 • Define the concept of air pressure, and

describe instruments used to measure air
Tristan oil spill: pressure.
• www.tristandc.com/newsmsoliva.php
US Navy aerosol research: 1. How does air exert pressure? Describe the
• www.nrlmry.navy.mil/7544.html. basic instrument used to measure air
Mayo clinic: pressure. Compare the operation of two
different types of instruments discussed.
• www.mayoclinic.com/health/airplane-ear/
DS00472 Air molecules—through their motion, size, and
Beaufort wind scale: number—produce pressure that is exerted on all
surfaces in contact with the air. The weight of
• www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/ocean/
the atmosphere, or air pressure, crushes in on
beaufort_max.htm
all of us; fortunately, that same pressure is also
Coriolis force physics:
inside us, pushing out. The atmosphere exerts
• www.real-world-physics-problems.com/ -2
an average force of approximately 1 kg • cm ) at
coriolis-force.html
sea level. Under the acceleration of gravity, air is
Wind Energy:
compressed and is denser near Earth’s surface,
• www.canwea.ca rapidly thinning out with increased altitude. This
• www.awea.org/ decrease is measurable since air exerts its
• www.ewea.org/ weight as a pressure.
Marine/tsunami debris in Pacific:

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Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
 Any instrument that measures air pressure
is called a barometer. Torricelli developed a
mercury barometer and established the average
height of the column of mercury in the
barometric tube. The column of mercury was
counterbalanced by the mass of surrounding air
exerting an equivalent pressure on the mercury
in the vessel. A more compact design that works
without a tube of mercury is called an aneroid
barometer (Figure 6.2).
2. What is the relationship between air
pressure and density, and between air
pressure and temperature?
The molecules that constitute air create air
pressure through their motion, size, and number.
Both pressure and density decrease with altitude
in the atmosphere. The low density in the upper
atmosphere means the molecules are far apart,
making collisions between them less frequent
and thereby reducing pressure
When air in the atmosphere is heated,
molecular activity increases and temperature
rises. With increased activity, the spacing
between molecules increases so that density is
reduced and air pressure decreases. Therefore,
warmer air is less dense, or lighter, than colder
air, and exerts less pressure.
3. What is normal sea-level pressure in
millimetres? Millibars? Kilopascals?
Using such instruments, normal sea level
pressure is expressed as 1013.2 millibars (a
way of expressing force per square metre of
surface area), or 760 mm, of mercury; or 101.32
kPa. (10 mb = 1 kPa.)
• Define wind, and explain how wind is
measured, how wind direction is determined,
and how winds are named.
4. What is a possible explanation for the
beautiful sunrises and sunsets during the
summer of 1992 in North America? Relate
your answer to global circulation.
Following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in
June 1991, global atmospheric effects were
noticed, and although smaller in scale, were
similar in many ways to the greatest eruption in
historic times. Early in April 1815, on an island
named Sumbawa in present-day Indonesia, the
volcano Tambora erupted violently, releasing an
3
estimated 150 km of material, an 80-times
greater volume than that produced by the 1980
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Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
Mount Saint Helens eruption in Washington
State.
Some materials from Tambora—the
aerosols and acid mists—were carried
worldwide by global atmospheric circulation,
creating a stratospheric dust veil. The result was
both a higher atmospheric albedo and
absorption of energy by the particulate materials
injected into the stratosphere. Remarkable
optical and meteorological phenomena resulting
from the spreading dust were noted for months
and years after the eruption. Beautifully coloured
sunsets and periods of twilight were enjoyed in
London, Paris, New York, and elsewhere. In the
summer of 1816, one year later, farmers in New
England and Europe were shocked to
experience frosts every month, and in some
places, every week. Mean temperatures in the
Northern Hemisphere apparently had dropped
by 0.4–0.7 C°. Although Tambora’s eruption has
not been conclusively tied to the cold summer in
1816, the impact of the eruption appears so
large that, despite measurement uncertainties, it
remains as powerful evidence of global
circulation.
5. Explain the statement, “The atmosphere
socializes humanity, making the entire world
a spatially linked society.” Illustrate your
answer with some examples.
In the introduction to this chapter the authors
give several dramatic examples of the impact of
global circulation: the Tambora eruption of 1815
and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. The
eruption of Mount Pinatubo that began in June
1991 provides further evidence of this dynamic
circulation.
Also remember beyond these dramatic
examples, global circulation mixes oxygen from
principal production areas, presses against sails
and kites, and guides and drives Earth’s weather
machine. See an initial mention by Richard A.
Kerr, “Huge Eruption May Cool the Globe,” in
Science Vol. 252, No. 5014 (28 June 1991): p.
1780, and the new references under suggested
readings at the end of the chapter. You no doubt
noticed the afterglow (past sunset) during the fall
of 1991 resulting from high-altitude ash and
mist—more intense at lower latitudes than
higher latitudes. Review the opening discussion
of the spatial implications of this eruption in the
introduction to this manual.
Examples abound for use in this introductory
lecture, as an example, a U.S. satellite, with a
plutonium-238 power plant on board, failed to
achieve orbit following an April 1964 launch. The
satellite burned on re-entry, spreading minute
amounts of radiation to monitoring stations
throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Another
example: in 1976, an above-ground nuclear test
at the Lop Nor Chinese Test site sent
radioactive debris into the atmosphere. Some 10
days later, fallout occurred over Canada and the
United States in measurable quantities.
The Tambora eruption is unequaled in
historic times for its output of ash and sulfur
compounds. The volcano did trigger a global
signature—this is undeniable. With weather-
related crop failures, the price of wheat soared
in the years after the eruption to a level not
reached again until 1972 and the Soviet grain
shortage! A direct connection with the cool
summer of 1816 is still elusive and unproven
despite several articles and books describing the
effects. A couple of sources to consult:
Stothers, Richard B., “The Great Tambora
Eruption in 1815 and Its Aftermath,” Science
Vol. 224, No. 4654 (15 June 1984): 1191-
1198.
Stommel, Henry and Elizabeth Stommel, “The
Year Without a Summer,” Scientific
American (June 1979): 176-186; also, by the
same authors in Volcano Weather—The
Story of the Year Without a Summer,
Newport: Seven Seas Press, 1983.
The aftermath of the Chernobyl accident
continues to unfold more than three decades
later. Some 200 000 people in Byelorussia and
Ukraine have been evacuated and another 110
000 await relocation. Yet, 5 million people live in
the overall affected area. Contamination is
continuing to spread through wind, air, water, soil,
and food chains. Unstable isotopes of plutonium,
americium, cesium, and strontium pose a distinct
threat to the population. (Source: Dr. Yevgeny F.
Konoplya, Director of the Radiobiology Institute of
the Byelorussian Academy of Sciences.) Clearly,
one person or country’s exhalation becomes
another’s inhalation downwind!
6. Define wind. How is it measured? How is
its direction determined?
Wind is the horizontal motion of air relative to
Earth’s surface, according to the Glossary of
Meteorology, second edition. However, air
moves in vertical directions as updrafts,
downdrafts, and micro- and macrobursts in air
turbulence, although the horizontal component
predominates and anemometers are designed to
measure this dominant movement direction. It is
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Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
produced by differences in air pressure from one
location to another and is influenced by several
variables. The two principal variables are speed
and direction. Wind speed is measured with an
anemometer, and may be expressed in
-1
kilometres per hour (km • h ), miles per hour
-1
(mph), metres per second (m • s ), or knots. (A
knot is a nautical mile per hour, covering 1
minute of Earth’s arc in an hour, equivalent to
-
1.85 km • h 1). Wind direction is determined with
a wind vane; the standard measurement is taken
10 m above the ground to avoid, as much as
possible, local effects of topography upon wind
direction.
• Explain the four driving forces within the
atmosphere—gravity, pressure gradient force,
Coriolis force, and friction force—and locate the
primary high- and low-pressure areas and
principal winds.
7. What does an isobaric map of surface air
pressure portray? Contrast pressures over
North America for January and July.
An isobaric map portrays the weight of the
atmosphere in specific locations. By delineating
high and low pressure air masses, geographers
are able to determine the movement of air
caused by the pressure gradient force and
determine the stability of an air mass, predicting
patterns of precipitation and aridity. Figure 6.10
illustrates the extremes in pressure and how
they relate to predictable weather patterns.
Pressures over North America during
January reflect the heat capacity of water. Low
pressures, such as the Aleutian Low and the
Icelandic Low, are found over the Pacific and
Atlantic Oceans, respectively. During January,
high pressures dominate the North American
landmass due to extreme low temperatures;
correlate with Figure 5.12. In July these
pressures switch locations; due to the low
specific heat of land, the North American
landmass heats rapidly, causing low pressures
to be located over the North American continent
and high pressures over the oceans—correlate
with Figure 5.13. The stable, high pressure air
limits much precipitation on the West coast,
while warm, low pressure air dominates the
Eastern Seaboard, causing greater evaporation
rates, higher humidity, and summer showers.
8. Describe the effect of the Coriolis force.
Explain how it appears to deflect
atmospheric and oceanic circulations.
The Coriolis force applies to objects moving
across Earth’s surface that appear to deflect
from a straight path. Because the physicist Sir
Isaac Newton stated that, if something is
accelerating over a space, a force is in
operation, the label force is appropriate here.
The deflection produced by the Coriolis force is
caused by the fact that Earth’s rotational speed
varies with latitude, decreasing from 1675 km •
-1
h at the equator to 0 at the poles (see Table
2.2). The Coriolis force increases as the speed
of moving objects increases; thus, the faster the
movement, the greater the apparent deflection.
And, because Earth rotates eastward, objects
that move in an absolute straight line over a
distance for some time (such as winds and
ocean currents) appear to curve to the right in
the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the
Southern Hemisphere.
Do we call Coriolis a force or an effect? The
proper way to refer to the Coriolis force has
plagued physical geography texts for years, yet
in other academic areas such ambivalence and
confusion do not seem to appear. The authors
chose to add the reference to Newton’s
definition of a force to give you a way of
explaining the usage in Geosystems. Think of a
deflective force that causes these apparent
effects. For several basic examples of the typical
treatment of Coriolis in other works consult the
following among many. The authors briefly
quotes these sources to give you an idea of
usage.
“Coriolis force,” Encyclopedia Britannica,
Micropædia Vol. 3, Chicago (1989 ed.): 632.
“...in classical mechanics, an inertial force...”
Barry Roger B. and Richard J. Chorley,
Atmosphere, Weather, and Climate, 5th ed.,
London: Methuen, 1987, 116-118. “The
Coriolis force arises from the fact that the
movement of masses over the earth’s
surface is usually referred to as a moving
coordinate system....”
Petterssen, Sverre, Introduction to Meteorology,
3rd ed., New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Company, 1969, 153-155. “The deviating
force....”
Neiburger, Morris and James G. Edinger,
William D. Bonner, Understanding Our
Atmospheric Environment, San Francisco:
W.H. Freeman, 1973, 99-104. “The effect of
the rotation of the earth on any moving
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Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
object is to make it appear as though a force
is acting on the object. This apparent force
is called the Coriolis force....” (A quantified
explanation and description of angular
velocity principles is presented).
9. What are geostrophic winds, and where
are they encountered in the atmosphere?
Figure 6.8b illustrates the combined effect of the
pressure gradient force and the Coriolis force on
the atmosphere, producing geostrophic winds.
Geostrophic winds are characteristic of upper
tropospheric circulation. The air does not flow
directly from high to low, but around the
pressure areas instead, remaining parallel to the
isobars and producing the characteristic pattern
shown on the upper-air weather chart.
10. Describe the horizontal and vertical air
motions in a high-pressure anti-cyclone and
in a low-pressure cyclone.
The pressure gradient force acting alone is
shown in Figure 6.8a from two perspectives and
an inset diagram. As air descends in the high-
pressure area, a field of subsiding, or sinking, air
develops. Air moves out of the high-pressure
area in a flow described as diverging. High-
pressure areas feature descending, diverging
airflows. On the other hand, air moving into a
low-pressure area does so with a converging
flow. Thus, low-pressure areas feature
converging, ascending air flows.
11. Construct a simple diagram of Earth’s
general circulation: begin by labelling the
four principal pressure belts or zones and
then add arrows between these pressure
systems to denote the three principal wind
systems.
For the student to complete (GIA 6.1a). The
sketch should begin with the thermal systems
along the equator and at the poles first, and then
add the two dynamic systems.
12. How is the intertropical convergence
zone (ITCZ) related to the equatorial low?
How does the ITCZ appear on satellite
images of accumulated precipitation for
January and July in GIA 6.2?
The equatorial low-pressure trough is an
elongated, narrow band of low pressure that
nearly girdles Earth, following an undulating
linear axis. Constant high Sun altitude and
consistent daylength make large amounts of
energy available at this region of Earth’s surface
throughout the year. The warming creates
lighter, less-dense, ascending air, with winds
converging all along the extent of the trough.
The combination of heating and convergence
forces air aloft and forms the intertropical
convergence zone (ITCZ). This converging air is
extremely moist and full of latent heat energy.
Vertical cloud columns frequently reach the
tropopause, and precipitation is heavy
throughout this zone. On the satellite image it is
identified by bands of clouds and high
precipitation along the equator.
13. Characterise the belt of subtropical high
pressure on Earth: Name several specific
cells. Describe the generation of westerlies
and trade winds and their effects on sailing
conditions.
Subtropical high pressure consists of hot, dry air
resulting from air diverging from the Hadley cell
deflected to the poles by the Coriolis force. This
air is associated with cloudless, desert regions,
such as the Sahara and the Arabian deserts.
Examples of subtropical high pressure cells are
the Azores high, which dominates the west
coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, the
Bermuda High, located in the western Atlantic,
and the Pacific High, which dominates the
Pacific Ocean. The divergence of this dry air
creates the ocean gyres, spinning in a clockwise
direction in the North Hemisphere due to the
Coriolis force.
The ocean currents stimulated by the
divergence of high pressure create two regions
of predictable currents, the tradewinds, which
migrate in an easterly direction, creating
currents such as the Canary Current and the
Equatorial Counter Current between Europe and
North America, and the westerlies, which move
in a westerly direction causing such currents as
the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic and the
Kurioshio, Japan Current, in the Pacific. The
combination of tradewinds, or easterlies, and
westerlies enabled European sailors to travel to
North America and return to Europe using the
currents created by the subtropical highs. If
ships were not geographically accurate, they
may have gotten caught in the center of the
subtropical highs, which are characterised by
little wind. These areas are called the horse
latitudes, where ships often killed livestock in
order to ration water and food, fearing they
would not locate the tradewinds.
14. What is the relationship among the
Aleutian low, the Icelandic low, and
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Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
migratory low-pressure cyclonic storms in
North America? In Europe?
The Aleutian low and Icelandic low are migratory
pressure cells. During the summer, these low
pressure cells are found in high latitudes over
the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bringing
precipitation to Ireland and the Pacific
Northwest, such as Seattle, Vancouver, and
Alaska. In January, as the continent of North
America becomes dominated by high pressure,
these subpolar lows migrate to lower latitudes
(due to their relative temperature), causing
cyclonic storms on the west coasts of North
America and Europe, such as British Columbia,
California and Spain. The contrasts that these
areas experience, variations between high
pressure in the winter and low pressures in the
summer, cause frontal interaction and
predictable patterns of precipitation.
• Describe upper-air circulation, and define the
jet streams.
15. What is the relation between wind speed
and the spacing of isobars?
Isobars allow us to see the pressure gradient
that exists in specific locations in the
atmosphere. When the isobars are close
together, this shows a steep pressure gradient,
or difference, causing greater wind speeds.
Similar to a topographic map, where closely
clustered lines of elevation show a steep slope,
we expect to find strong winds in areas of
closely clustered isobars. If isobars are spaced
far apart, this reflects a gentle pressure gradient
resulting in a slow wind speed, or a mild breeze.
See Figure 6.6.
16. How is the constant isobaric surface,
especially the ridges and troughs, related to
surface pressure systems? To divergence
aloft and surface lows? To convergence aloft
and surface highs?
As on surface maps, closer spacing of the
isobars indicates faster winds; wider spacing
indicates slower winds. On this isobaric pressure
surface, altitude variations from the reference
datum are called ridges for high pressure and
troughs for low pressure. The patterns of ridges
and troughs in the upper-wind flow are important
in sustaining surface cyclonic (low) and
anticyclonic (high) circulation. Frequently
surface pressure systems are generated by the
upper-air wind flow. Near ridges in the isobaric
surface, winds slow and converge. Conversely,
near the area of maximum wind speeds in the
isobaric surface, winds accelerate and diverge.
This divergence in the upper-air flow is important
to cyclonic circulation at the surface because it
creates an outflow of air aloft that stimulates an
inflow of air into the low-pressure cyclone.
17. Relate the jet-stream phenomenon to
general upper-air circulation. How is the
presence of this circulation related to airline
schedules from New York to San Francisco
and the return trip to New York?
Within the westerly flow of geostrophic winds are
great waving undulations called Rossby waves
(Figure 6.13). These Rossby waves develop
along the flow axis of a jet stream. The most
prominent movement in these upper-level
westerly wind flows is the jet stream, an
irregular, concentrated band of wind occurring at
several different locations. Airline schedules
reflect the presence of these upper-level winds,
for they allot shorter flight times from west to
east and longer flight times from east to west
(Figure 6.14).
• Explain the regional monsoons and several
types of local winds.
18. Describe the seasonal pressure patterns
that produce the Asian monsoonal wind and
precipitation patterns. Contrast January and
July conditions.
The monsoons of southern and eastern Asia are
driven by the location and size of the Asian
landmass, and its proximity to the Indian Ocean
and the seasonally shifting ITCZ. Also important
to the generation of monsoonal flows are wind
and pressure patterns in the upper-air
circulation. The extreme temperature range from
summer to winter over the Asian landmass is
due to its continentality, reflecting its isolation
from the modifying effects of the ocean.
Resultant cold, dry winds blow from the Asian
interior over the Himalayas, downslope, and
across India, producing average temperatures of
between 15° and 20°C at lower elevations.
These dry winds desiccate the landscape.
During the June-September wet period, the
Sun shifts northward to the Tropic of Cancer,
near the mouths of the Indus and Ganges
Rivers. The Asian continental interior develops a
thermal low pressure, associated with higher
average temperatures, and the intertropical
convergence zone shifts northward over
southern Asia. Meanwhile, the Indian Ocean,
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with surface temperatures of 30°C, is under the
influence of subtropical high pressure. These
conditions produce the wet monsoon of India,
where world-record rainfalls have occurred: both
the second-highest average rainfall (1143 cm)
and the highest single-year rainfall total (2647
cm) were measured at Cherrapunji, India.
19. People living along coastlines generally
experience variations in winds from day to
night. Explain the factors that produce these
changing wind patterns.
The differential heating characteristics of land
and water surfaces create these winds. During
the day, land heats faster and becomes warmer
than does the water offshore. Because warm air
is less dense, it rises and triggers an onshore
flow of cooler marine air, which is usually
stronger in the afternoon. At night, inland areas
cool radiatively faster than do offshore waters.
As a result, the cooler air over the land subsides
and flows offshore over the warmer water,
where the air is lifted. This night pattern reverses
the process that developed during the day
(Figure 6.16).
20. The arrangement of mountains and
nearby valleys produces local wind patterns.
Explain the day and night winds that might
develop.
Mountain air cools rapidly at night, and valley air
gains heat rapidly during the day (Figure 6.17).
Thus, warm air rises upslope during the day,
particularly in the afternoon; at night, cooler air
subsides downslope into the valleys.
21. This chapter presents wind-power
technology as well developed and cost
effective. Given the information presented
and your additional critical thinking work,
what conclusions have you reached?
Personal answer, possibly based on
information from www.canwea.ca/
www.awea.org/ and www.ewea.org/, the
websites of the Canadian Wind Energy
Association, the American Wind Energy
Association, and the European Wind Energy
Association.
• Sketch the basic pattern of Earth’s major
surface ocean currents and deep thermohaline
circulation.
22. Define the western intensification. How is
it related to the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio
currents?
Gyres and their western margins feature slightly
stronger currents than do the eastern portions.
Along the full extent of areas adjoining the
equator, trade winds drive the oceans westward
in a concentrated channel. These currents are
kept near the equator by the weaker Coriolis
force influence. As the surface current
approaches the western margins of the oceans,
the water actually piles up an average of 15 cm.
From this western edge, ocean water then spills
northward and southward in strong currents,
flowing in tight channels along the western
edges of the ocean basins (eastern shorelines of
continents). This is the process known as
western intensification.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the Gulf
Stream and the Kuroshio Current move
forcefully northward as a result of western
intensification, with their speed and depth
increasing with the constriction of the area they
occupy. The warm, deep-blue water of the
ribbonlike Gulf Stream (Figure 5.8) usually is
50–80 km wide and 1.5–2.0 km deep, moving at
-1
3–10 km • h . In 24 hours, ocean water can
move 70–240 km in the Gulf Stream, although a
complete circuit around an entire gyre may take
a year.
23. Where on Earth are upwelling currents
experienced? What is the nature of these
currents? Where are the four areas of
downwelling that feed these dense bottom
currents?
Where surface water is swept away from a
coast, either by surface divergence (induced by
the Coriolis force) or by offshore winds, an
upwelling current occurs. This cool water
generally is nutrient-rich and rises from great
depth to replace the vacating water. Such cold
upwelling currents occur off the Pacific coasts of
North and South America and the subtropical
and midlatitude west coast of Africa.
The four regions of downwelling are found in
the Labrador Sea, the Greenland Sea, and the
margins of Antarctica.
24. What is meant by deep-ocean
circulation? At what rates do these currents
flow? How might this circulation be related
to the Gulf Stream in the western Atlantic
Ocean?
Important mixing currents along the ocean floor
are generated from such downwelling zones and
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travel the full extent of the ocean basins,
carrying heat energy and salinity.
Imagine a continuous channel of water
beginning with cold water downwelling in the
North Atlantic, flowing deep and strong to
upwellings in the Indian Ocean and North
Pacific. Here it warms and then is carried in
surface currents back to the North Atlantic. A
complete circuit may require 1000 years from
downwelling in the Labrador Sea off Greenland
to its reemergence in the southern Indian Ocean
and return. Even deeper Antarctic bottom water
flows northward in the Atlantic Basin beneath
these currents.
25. Relative to question 24, what effects
might climate change have on these deep
currents?
These current systems appear to play a
profound role in global climate; in turn, global
warming has the potential to disrupt the
downwelling in the North Atlantic and the
thermohaline circulation. If this sinking of surface
waters slowed or stopped, the ocean’s ability to
redistribute absorbed heat energy would be
disrupted and surface accumulation of heat
energy would add to the warming already
underway. There is a freshening of ocean
surface waters in both polar regions, contrasted
with large increases in salinity in the surface
waters at lower latitudes. Increased rates of
glacier, sea-ice, and ice-sheet melting produce
these fresh lower-density surface waters that
ride on top of the denser saline water. The
concern is that such changes in ocean
temperature and salinity could dampen the rate
of the North Atlantic Deep Water downwelling in
the North Atlantic.
• Summarize several multi-year oscillations of
air temperature, air pressure, and circulation
associated with the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific
Oceans.
26. Describe the changes in sea-surface
temperatures and atmospheric pressure that
occur during El Niño and La Niña, the warm
and cool phases of the ENSO. What are
some of the climatic effects that occur
worldwide?
During the El Niño phase, higher pressure
develops over the western Pacific, and lower
pressure develops over the eastern Pacific.
Westward trade winds can be reduced or even
replaced by an eastward (west-to-east) flow.
The shifting of atmospheric pressure and wind
patterns across the Pacific is the Southern
Oscillation.
Sea-surface temperatures may increase to
more than 8C° above normal in the central and
eastern Pacific, replacing the normally cold,
nutrient-rich water along Peru’s coastline. This
“warm pool” may extend to the International
Date Line. This surface pool of warm water is
the El Niño, leading to the designation ENSO—
El Niño–Southern Oscillation. During El Niño
conditions, the thermocline lowers in depth in
the eastern Pacific Ocean, blocking upwelling
currents and their nutrient-rich waters. This loss
of nutrients affects the phytoplankton and food
chain, depriving fish, marine mammals, and
predatory birds of nourishment.
When surface waters in the central and
eastern Pacific cool to below normal by 0.4 C° or
more, the condition is dubbed La Niña, Spanish
for “the girl.” This condition is weaker and less
consistent than El Niño; otherwise, there is no
correlation in strength or weakness between the
two phases.
27. What is the relationship between the PDO
and the strength of El Niño events? Between
PDO phases and climate in the western
United States?
Across the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific Decadal
Oscillation (PDO) is longer lived, at 20 to 30
years in duration, than the 2- to 12-year variation
in the ENSO. The PDO term came into use in
1996. Involved are two regions of sea-surface
temperatures and related air pressure: the
northern and tropical western Pacific (region #1),
and the area of the eastern tropical Pacific,
along the West Coast (region #2).
Between 1947 and 1977, higher-than-
normal temperatures dominated region #1, and
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lower temperatures were in region #2; this is the
PDO negative phase (or cool phase). A switch to
a positive phase (or warm phase) in the PDO
ran from 1977 to the 1990s, when lower
temperatures were in region #1 and higher-than-
normal temperatures dominated region #2,
coinciding with a time of more intense ENSO
events. In 1999, a switch to a negative phase
began. Unfortunately for the U.S. Southwest,
this PDO negative phase can mean a decade or
more of drier conditions for the already drought-
plagued region.
Causes of the PDO and its cyclic variability
over time are unknown. Scientists monitor
conditions in the Pacific and look for patterns. A
better understanding of the PDO will help
scientists predict ENSO events as well as
regional drought cycles.
28. What phases are identified for the NAO
and AO? What winter weather conditions
generally affect the eastern United States
during each phase? What happened during
the 2009–2010 winter season in the Northern
Hemisphere?
A north–south fluctuation of atmospheric
variability marks the North Atlantic Oscillation
(NAO), as pressure differences between the
Icelandic Low and the Azores High in the
Atlantic alternate from a weak to a strong
pressure gradient. The Arctic Oscillation (AO) is
the variable fluctuation between middle- and
high-latitude air mass conditions over the
Northern Hemisphere. The AO is associated
with the NAO, especially in winter. During the
winter of 2009–2010, the AO was at its most
strongly negative phase since 1970.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking 6.1 Measure the Wind
Personal answers depending upon atmospheric
conditions.
Critical thinking 6.2 What Causes the North
Australian Monsoon?
The dry season in northern Australia is from
about May through October, during the Southern
Hemisphere winter. The southeast trades blow
dry air from the Australian continent northward
over the Pacific toward Indonesia. High pressure
is over Australia at this time (see the July
pressure in Figure 6.10). The wet season is from
about November to April, during the Australian
summer (see the January rainfall pattern in
Figure GIA 6.2). The ITCZ brings moist, warm air
over northern Australia during this time. For more
information, go to www.environment.gov.au/
soe/2001/publications/theme-reports/atmosphere/
atmosphere02-1.html and scroll down to
“monsoon.”
GIA Questions and GEOquiz
Infer: In what directions would the westerlies
and northeast trade winds blow if there were
no Coriolis force?
Without the Coriolis force the westerlies would
blow from the equator towards the poles, so they
would be the southerlies in the northern
hemisphere and the northerlies in the southern
hemisphere.
The northeast trade winds would blow from
the subtropical high toward the ITCZ, so they
would be the northerlies.
Explain: What causes the difference in
precipitation between the dry and rainy
seasons in the Western Ghats mountain
range of India, pictured to the right?
The Western Ghats are subject to the shifting
ITCZ as it follows the subsolar point. When the
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ITCZ is overhead during summer, it brings
intense precipitation. During winter, high-
pressure is dominant, causing dry, dusty
conditions.
1. Explain: The position of subtropical highs
and subpolar lows shifts with the seasons.
Explain how this shift affects climate
patterns of the midlatitudes.
The subpolar lows are related to the Polar front,
which is related to the storm tracks of
midlatitude cyclones. These are the migrating
centers of low-pressure that bring precipitation
to the midlatitudes. The subpolar low and the
subtropical high follow the subsolar point north
and south with the seasons. During winter they
shift south, bringing rain to the midlatitudes.
Broadly speaking, the Polar front is associated
with cold and wet conditions, while the
subtropical high is associated with warm and dry
conditions.
2. Compare: Describe surface air movements
where a Hadley cell meets a midlatitude cell
and where two Hadley cells meet the ITCZ.
How do these movements explain the climate
patterns along these boundaries?
Where the Hadley cell meets a midlatitude cell,
a region of high pressure is created. This causes
warm, dry conditions. In fact, most of the world's
deserts are found in these regions. On the other
hand, where the two Hadley cells meet the
ITCZ, there exists a region of rising air. The
ITCZ is a region of high precipitation,
responsible for everything from daily
thunderstorms in the tropics to the intense
seasonal rains of the Asian monsoons.
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Visual Analysis 6 Atmospheric Circulation

1.Which of Earth’s principal surface winds is driving the dust shown in this
image? Based on the apparent strength of these winds, during what season
did this event occur?

This area lies in the zone of the Westerlies, but in this image the winds are from the
southwest. This event likely occurred in winter when southwesterly winds are
strongest.

2.Looking Back to the image in Figure 3.6a, you see dust plumes that are brown, a
common colour for dust. What characteristic of the landscape makes the dust
plumes white in the image below? (Note: these plumes are not smoke from
wildfires.)
The White Sands dune field is unique in that the dunes are composed of gypsum
crystals rather than silica sand. Dust resulting from erosion of the crystals gives a
brilliant white image when viewed from space.

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