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SRG-39 (J-11) SCHOOL BOOK READ UP – 39 (GEOGRAPHY)

ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Atmospheric Circulation
Air expands when heated and gets compressed when cooled. This results in variations in
the atmospheric pressure. The result is that it causes the movement of air from high pressure to
low pressure, setting the air in motion. Air in horizontal motion is wind. Atmospheric pressure
also determines when the air will rise or sink. The wind redistributes the heat and moisture
across the planet, thereby, maintaining a constant temperature for the planet as a whole. The
vertical rising of moist air cools it down to form the clouds and bring precipitation.
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
Our body is subjected to a lot of air pressure. Standard pressure and Temperature
As one moves up the air gets verified and one feels at Selected Levels
breathless. The weight of a column of air contained in Level Pressure Temperature
a unit area from the mean sea level to the top of the in mb °C
atmosphere is called the atmospheric pressure. The Sea Level 1,013.25 15.2
atmospheric pressure is expressed in units of mb and 1 km 898.76 8.7
Pascals. The widely used unit is kilo Pascal written as 5 km 540.48 –17. 3
hPa. At sea level the average atmospheric pressure is 10 km 265.00 – 49.7
1,013.2 mb or 1,013.2 hPa. Due to gravity the air at
the surface is denser and hence has higher pressure. Air pressure is measured with the help of a
mercury barometer or the aneroid barometer. The pressure decreases with height. At any
elevation it varies from place to place and its variation is the primary cause of air motion, i.e.
wind which moves from high pressure areas to low pressure areas.
Vertical Variation of Pressure
In the lower atmosphere the pressure General Atmospheric Circulation and its
decreases rapidly with height. The decrease Effects on Oceans
amounts to about 1 mb for each 10 m increase in
Warming and cooling of the Pacific
elevation. It does not always decrease at the same
Ocean is most important in terms of general
rate. Table gives the average pressure and atmospheric circulation. The warm water of
temperature at selected levels of elevation for a the central Pacific Ocean slowly drifts
standard atmosphere. towards South American coast and replaces
The vertical pressure gradient force is much the cool Peruvian current. Such appearance
larger than that of the horizontal pressure of warm water off the coast of Peru is known
gradient. But, it is generally balanced by a nearly as the El Nino. The El Nino event is closely
associated with the pressure changes in the
equal but opposite gravitational force. Hence, we
Central Pacific and Australia. This change in
do not experience strong upward winds.
pressure condition over Pacific is known as
Forces Affecting the Velocity and Direction of the southern oscillation. The combined
Wind phenomenon of southern oscillation and El
Nino is known as ENSO. In the years when
The air is set in motion due to the the ENSO is strong, large-scale variations in
differences in atmospheric pressure. The air in weather occur over the world. The arid west
motion is called wind. The wind blows from high coast of South America receives heavy
pressure to low pressure. The wind at the surface rainfall, drought occurs in Australia and
experiences friction. In addition, rotation of the sometimes in India and floods in China. This
earth also affects the wind movement. The force phenomenon is closely monitored and is
exerted by the rotation of the earth is known as the used for long range forecasting in major
Coriolis force. parts of the world.

Seasonal Wind
The pattern of wind circulation is modified in different seasons due to the shifting of
regions of maximum heating, pressure and wind belts. The most pronounced effect of such a shift
is noticed in the monsoons, especially over southeast Asia. The other local deviations from the
general circulation system are as follows.

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Local Winds
Differences in the heating and cooling of earth surfaces and the cycles those develop daily
or annually can create several common, local or regional winds.
Land
and
Sea

Land and sea breezes

Breezes
As explained earlier, the land and sea absorb and transfer heat differently. During the day
the land heats up faster and becomes warmer than the sea. Therefore, over the land the air rises
giving rise to a low pressure area, whereas the sea is relatively cool and the pressure over sea is
relatively high. Thus, pressure gradient from sea to land is created and the wind blows from the
sea to the land as the sea breeze. In the night the reversal of condition takes place. The land loses
heat faster and is cooler than the sea. The pressure gradient is from the land to the sea and
hence land breeze results.
Mountain and Valley Winds
In mountainous regions, during the day the slopes get heated up and air moves upslope
and to fill the resulting gap the air from the valley blows up the valley. This wind is known as the
valley breeze. During the night the slopes get cooled and the dense air descends into the valley as
the mountain wind. The cool air, of the high plateaus and ice fields draining into the valley is
called katabatic wind. Another type of warm wind occurs on the leeward side of the mountain
ranges. The moisture in these winds, while crossing the mountain ranges condense and
precipitate. When it descends down the leeward side of the slope the dry air gets warmed up by
adiabatic process. This dry air may melt the snow in a short time.
CLIMATE CHANGE
The earlier chapters on climate summarised our understanding of climate as it prevails
now. The type of climate we experience now might be prevailing over the last 10,000 years with
minor and occasionally wide fluctuations. The planet earth has witnessed many variations in
climate since the beginning. Geological records show alteration of glacial and inter-glacial periods.
The geomorphological features, especially in high altitudes and high latitudes, exhibit traces of
advances and retreats of glaciers. The sediment deposits in glacial lakes also reveal the
occurrence of warm and cold periods. The rings in the trees provide clues about wet and dry
periods. Historical records describe the vagaries in climate. All these evidences indicate that
change in climate is a natural and continuous process.
India also witnessed alternate wet and dry periods. Archaeological findings show that the
Rajasthan desert experienced wet and cool climate around 8,000 B.C. The period 3,000- 1,700

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B.C. had higher rainfall. From about 2,000-1,700 B.C., this region was the centre of the
Harappan civilisation. Dry conditions accentuated since then.
In the geological past, the earth was warm some 500-300 million years ago, through the
Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian periods. During the Pleistocene epoch, glacial and inter-
glacial periods occurred, the last major peak glacial period was about 18,000 years ago. The
present inter-glacial period started 10,000 years ago.
Climate in the recent past
Variability in climate occurs all the time. The nineties decade of the last century witnessed
extreme weather events. The 1990s recorded the warmest temperature of the century and some of
the worst floods around the world. The worst devastating drought in the Sahel region, south of
the Sahara desert, from 1967-1977 is one such variability. During the 1930s, severe drought
occurred in southwestern Great Plains of the United States, described as the dust bowl. Historical
records of crop yield or crop failures, of floods and migration of people tell about the effects of
changing climate. A number of times Europe witnessed warm, wet, cold and dry periods, the
significant episodes were the warm and dry conditions in the tenth and eleventh centuries, when
the Vikings settled in Greenland. Europe witnessed “Little Ice Age” from 1550 to about 1850.
From about 1885-1940 world temperature showed an upward trend. After 1940, the rate of
increase in temperature slowed down.
Causes of Climate Change
The causes for climate change are many. They can be grouped into astronomical and
terrestrial causes. The astronomical causes are the changes in solar output associated with
sunspot activities. Sunspots are dark and cooler patches on the sun which increase and decrease
in a cyclical manner. According to some meteorologists, when the number of sunspots increase,
cooler and wetter weather and greater storminess occur. A decrease in sunspot numbers is
associated with warm and drier conditions. Yet, these findings are not statistically significant.
An another astronomical theory is Millankovitch oscillations, which infer cycles in the
variations in the earth’s orbital characteristics around the sun, the wobbling of the earth and the
changes in the earth’s axial tilt. All these alter the amount of insolation received from the sun,
which in turn, might have a bearing on the climate.
Volcanism is considered as another cause for climate change. Volcanic eruption throws up
lots of aerosols into the atmosphere. These aerosols remain in the atmosphere for a considerable
period of time reducing the sun’s radiation reaching the Earth’s surface. After the recent Pinatoba
and El Cion volcanic eruptions, the average
temperature of the earth fell to some extent for some The term greenhouse is
years. derived from the analogy to a
greenhouse used in cold areas for
The most important anthropogenic effect on preserving heat. A greenhouse is
the climate is the increasing trend in the made up of glass. The glass which is
concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere transparent to incoming short wave
which is likely to cause global warming. solar radiation is opaque to outgoing
Global Warming long wave radiation. The glass,
therefore, allows in more radiation
Due to the presence of greenhouse gases, the and prevents the long wave radiation
atmosphere is behaving like a greenhouse. The going outside the glass house,
atmosphere also transmits the incoming solar causing the temperature inside the
radiation but absorbs the vast majority of long wave glasshouse structure warmer than
radiation emitted upwards by the earth’s surface. The outside. When you enter a car or a
gases that absorb long wave radiation are called bus, during summers, where
greenhouse gases. The processes that warm the windows are closed, you feel more
atmosphere are often collectively referred to as the heat than outside. Likewise during
greenhouse effect. winter the vehicles with closed doors
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) and windows remain warmer than
the temperature outside. This is
The primary GHGs of concern today are carbon another example of the greenhouse
dioxide (CO2), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methane effect.
(CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and ozone (O3). Some other
gases such as nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) easily react with GHGs and affect their
concentration in the atmosphere.

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The effectiveness of any given GHG molecule will depend on the magnitude of the increase
in its concentration, its life time in the atmosphere and the wavelength of radiation that it
absorbs. The chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are highly effective. Ozone which absorbs ultra violet
radiation in the stratosphere is very effective in absorbing terrestrial radiation when it is present
in the lower troposphere. Another important point to be noted is that the more time the GHG
molecule remains in the atmosphere, the longer it will take for earth’s atmospheric system to
recover from any change brought about by the latter.
The largest concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere is carbon dioxide. The emission of
CO2 comes mainly from fossil fuel combustion (oil, gas and coal). Forests and oceans are the
sinks for the carbon dioxide. Forests use CO2 in their growth. So, deforestation due to changes in
land use, also increases the concentration of Co2. The time taken for atmospheric CO2 to adjust
to changes in sources to sinks is 20-50 years. It is rising at about 0.5 per cent annually. Doubling
of concentration of CO2 over pre-industrial level is used as an index for estimating the changes in
climate in climatic models.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are products of human activity. Ozone occurs in the
stratosphere where ultra-violet rays convert oxygen into ozone. Thus, ultra violet rays do not
reach the earth’s surface. The CFCs which drift into the stratosphere destroy the ozone. Large
depletion of ozone occurs over Antarctica. The depletion of ozone concentration in the
stratosphere is called the ozone hole. This allows the ultra violet rays to pass through the
troposphere.
International efforts have been initiated for reducing the emission of GHGs into the
atmosphere. The most important one is the Kyoto protocol proclaimed in 1997. This protocol went
into effect in 2005, ratified by 141 nations. Kyoto protocol bounds the 35 industrialised countries
to reduce their emissions by the year 2012 to 5 per cent less than the levels prevalent in the year
1990.
The increasing trend in the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere may, in the long
run, warm up the earth. Once the global warming sets in, it will be difficult to reverse it. The
effect of global warming may not be uniform everywhere. Nevertheless, the adverse effect due to
global warming will adversely affect the life supporting system. Rise in the sea level due to melting
of glaciers and ice-caps and thermal expansion of the sea may inundate large parts of the coastal
area and islands, leading to social problems. This is another cause for serious concern for the
world community. Efforts have already been initiated to control the emission of GHGs and to
arrest the trend towards global warming. Let us hope the world community responds to this
challenge and adopts a lifestyle that leaves behind a livable world for the generations to come.
Temperature data are available from the middle of the 19th century mostly for western
Europe. The reference period for this study is 1961-90. The temperature anomalies for the earlier
and later periods are estimated from the average temperature for the period 1961-90. The annual
average near-surface air temperature of the world is approximately 14°C. The time series show
anomalies of annual near surface temperature over land from 1856-2000, relative to the period
1961-90 as normal for the globe.
An increasing trend in temperature was discernible in the 20th century. The greatest
warming of the 20th century was during the two periods, 1901-44 and 1977-99. Over each of
these two periods, global temperatures rose by about 0.4°C. In between, there was a slight
cooling, which was more marked in the Northern Hemisphere.
The globally averaged annual mean temperature at the end of the 20th century was about
0.6°C above that recorded at the end of the 19th century. The seven warmest years during the
1856-2000 were recorded in the last decade. The year 1998 was the warmest year, probably not
only for the 20th century but also for the whole millennium.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
D Y N:
1. What is atmospheric pressure?
2. Standard pressure at sea level is
3. What is ENSO?
4. What is katabatic wind?
5. What is Kyoto Protocol?
6. Which year was the warmest year for the whole millennium?

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7. What are the green houses gases

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