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Movin' Around

Movin' Around. Why is the equator warmer than the poles?. The rays of the sun strike the Earth directly at the equator. At the poles the curvature of the Earth spreads the rays out. The solar radiation heats the surface of the earth.

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Movin' Around

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  1. Movin' Around

  2. Why is the equator warmer than the poles? The rays of the sun strike the Earth directly at the equator. At the poles the curvature of the Earth spreads the rays out.

  3. The solar radiation heats the surface of the earth. Heat is transferred to air molecules that come in contact with the ground.

  4. If all the air is rising, Why doesn’t this person suffocate? The solar radiation heats the surface of the earth. Heat is transferred to air molecules that come in contact with the ground.

  5. As the Warmer Air Rises… Cooler air is pulled in from other places What is this called?

  6. WIND

  7. Convection current – the transfer of heat through movement in the atmosphere. Low Pressure WIND High Pressure

  8. The Wind • Winds are the result of uneven heating of the Earth’s surface • This uneven heating causes differences in air pressure to develop • Molecules always move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure

  9. North Pole 90°N Arctic circle 66.5°N Tropic of Cancer 23.5°N Equator 0° Tropic of Capricorn 23.5°N Antarctic circle 66.5°S North Pole 90°N GLOBAL PRESSURE & WIND ZONE of least heating produces HIGH PRESSURE HIGH ZONE of greatest heating produces LOW PRESSURE LOW HIGH ZONE of least heating produces HIGH PRESSURE How would you expect air to move across the planet?

  10. GLOBAL PRESSURE & WIND Global circulation depends on differential heating over the globe. The system is driven by strong equatorial heating, causing LOW PRESSURE. POLAR HIGH EQUATORIAL LOW

  11. GLOBAL PRESSURE & WIND Equatorial air descends over the tropics, where HIGH PRESSURE dominates; where it diverges at ground level. This tropical air blows towards the equator, completing the equatorial cell. POLAR HIGH TROPICAL HIGH EQUATORIAL LOW

  12. GLOBAL PRESSURE & WIND Some of the sinking air at the Tropical High moves towards the mid-latitides where it meets cold, dense polar air blown out from the polar HIGH PRESSURE. POLAR HIGH TROPICAL HIGH EQUATORIAL LOW

  13. GLOBAL PRESSURE & WIND These contrasting tropical and polar air masses meet at the POLAR FRONT LOW PRESSURE BELT, where the warmer air is forced upwards by the polar air. POLAR HIGH POLAR FRONT (LOW PRESSURE) TROPICAL HIGH EQUATORIAL LOW

  14. And Then the World Turns

  15. CORIOLIS FORCE High • Pressure gradient wind blows from high pressure towards low pressure. • The earth’s rotation diverts this wind direction sideways. This force is called the CORIOLIS FORCE. • The Coriolis force diverts wind the the right in the northern hemisphere; to the left in the south. Theoretical wind which would result solely from pressure gradient Actual wind which blows, as diverted by Coriolis Force Low Merry Go Round Demonstration Coriolis Explained

  16. Easterlies– pattern of air movement at the poles Goes to the mid-latitudes Westerlies– pattern of air movement in the mid-latitudes Goes to the poles Trade Winds – pattern of air movement in the tropics Goes to the equator

  17. Why do the gas giants appear to have a striped surface?

  18. Jet Stream – is a band of fast moving air in the stratosphere. Formed where Westerly winds meet the Easterly winds Jet Stream Video

  19. Summarizing Convection • What is convection? • Where does convection occur? • In what states of matter does convection occur? • What other liquid could convection occur in on Earth?

  20. Ocean Currents • Atmospheric Currents • Depend on temperature • Ocean Surface Currents • Depend on wind

  21. Ocean Currents

  22. Ocean Currents

  23. Ocean Currents

  24. Wind driven surface currents Wind-drive ocean surface currents • How fast? A few miles/hr (Gulf Stream off of Miami = 4.5 mph) • How much?Total water in ocean surface circulation = about 100 Amazon Rivers (20 million m3/s).

  25. Ocean Currents Illustrated • Green Peace • Today Show Investigates

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