Scales of Motion

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Scales of Motion
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Scales of Atmospheric Motion
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Turbulence
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Turbulence
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Clear Air Turbulence
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Turbulence
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Thermal Circulations

• Remember the main force behind the wind is the
  pressure gradient.
• Variations in warming/cooling of the atmosphere
  can cause pressure gradients and thus winds.
• Lake and land breezes
• Mountain and valley breezes

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Thermal Circulation Development
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Thermal Circulation Development
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Sea and Land Breeze
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Mountain and Valley Breezes
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Monsoon Circulations
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North American Monsoon
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Katabatic Winds
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Chinook Winds
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Chinook Winds
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Santa Ana Winds
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Global Circulation

• We have learned how the wind is a part of thermal
  circulations.
• The earth as a whole is cold at the poles and
  warm at the equator.
• While the earth as a whole is in an energy
  balance with the sun, individual locations are
  not!
• This inequality leads to general large scale
  circulations.

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Earth
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Hadley Cell Circulation
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Three Cell Model
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Three Cell Model
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Global Precipitation
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Influence of Continents

• With continents, only the s. hemisphere, polar
  front remains.
• No land masses in this region.
• The earth has regions of semipermanent highs and
  lows.
• These highs and lows continually develop in the
  same location.

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Wind Flow Patterns January
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Wind Flow Patterns July
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North American Semi-Permanent High
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Jet Stream
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Jet Stream
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Jet Stream
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Winds Influence on the Oceans
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Winds Influence on the Oceans
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ENSO
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ENSO
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El Nino Ocean Temperature
Satellite data of sea surface temperature (SST)
illustrate the difference between a non-El Nino
year, with cool easterly waters, and the warmer
SST El Nino year.
Figure 11.22A
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El Nino Global Impacts