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Coriolis Effect. Intro. There are 3 major forces that determine how strongly the wind will blow and in what direction: Pressure Gradient Force p ush from high pressure to low pressure f riction Coriolis effect. Intro. named for, nineteenth century French engineer Gaspard C. Coriolis
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Intro There are 3 major forces that determine how strongly the wind will blow and in what direction: • Pressure Gradient Force • push from high pressure to low pressure • friction • Coriolis effect
Intro • named for, nineteenth century French engineer Gaspard C. Coriolis • Coriolis discovered that a force appears to be operating on any moving object situated on a rotating body, such as a stream of air traveling on the surface of a rotating planet.
Coriolis Effect • caused by Earth’s rotation • appearance to the observer on Earth of the path of a moving object to deflect to the right in N. Hemisphere & to the left in the S. Hemisphere
Coriolis Effect cont’d • also causes low pressure systems to rotate clockwise • high pressure systems to rotate counterclockwise
Degree of deflection depends on how fast the winds are blowing and it’s latitude: • slower the wind speed, the less it will be deflected • faster the wind speed, the more it will be deflected • more deflection at the poles • less deflection at the equator
Summary • From outer space it would appear the winds are moving in a straight line • Since you are on earth and it is rotating, it looks to you like the winds are curving • There really a change in motion, but that is ONLY because the target or frame of reference is rotating with the earth