Air Masses and Jet Streams - Their Characteristics and Movement

1. Aim: What are air Masses? Do Now: Pick up a worksheet from the back top bin. Read the passage about the jet stream. On the bottom of the sheet answer the question… What is the jet stream and why is it weaker in the summer?

2. Do Now Answer: Jet streams are fast moving currents of air in the upper troposphere. Like all winds, they form because of a difference in pressure. They are weaker in the summer because the difference between high and low pressure in the summer is small. Since the difference in pressure is small, the winds are weaker. This answer was found in the second paragraph. The article talks about the jet streams in the winter and you should be able to infer from this what happens in the summer.

3. I. Air Mass - A large body of air defined by moisture content and temperature. - Source regions determine the characteristics. - As they move away from their source region, their characteristics change.

4. II. Characteristics of Air Masses • A) Moisture content: describes if the air is dry or moist. Indicated with a lowercase letter. • Maritime (m) source regions over water • - Continental (c) source regions over land

5. B) Temperature:describes if the air is warm or cool. Indicated with an uppercase letter. • -Polar (P)source regions over high latitudes • -Tropical (T)source regions over low latitudes

6. Using the notes you took, identify the air masses using the correct two letter symbols. Continental 2 Polar Maritime Maritime cP 3 Polar 1 Polar mP mP Continental Polar 4 cP Continental Tropical 6 cT Maritime Maritime Tropical Tropical 5 mT 7 mT

7. III. Air Mass Movement • influenced by Jet Streams in the troposphere and prevailing winds.

8. Closure Work on back of “Do Now” “What are Air Masses?” Worksheet After you complete the back of the sheet, take the second worksheet from the back bottom bin. Only work on the air masses side. We will go over both when finished

9. Bill Nye the Science Guy in THE ATMOSPHERE