Module 4 Geog 130

Lecture Notes
 Next, we examine the rhythms of
daily/nightly air flow
Four Types of Local Winds
 Daily cycles of air flow driven by
the sun heating the surface
during the day and creating
pressure changes

 Sea and Land Breeze

 Mountain and Valley Breeze
Coastal Wind Cycle
1. Sea Breeze (DAY)- Low pressure is over land drawing
in air from the sea
2. Land Breeze (NIGHT)- Low pressure is over the sea
drawing air from the land
Inland Wind Cycle
3. Valley Breeze (DAY)- Heat rises uphill

4. Mountain Breeze (NIGHT)- Cool air sinks downhill

 Local downhill air flow
Santa Ana Wind

Wind traveling from the

High pressure over the desert
to the ocean and
heating the air as it
descends
AIR MASSES Immense body of air

Massive parcel of air

uniform temp & moisture level

Created in ‘Source Regions’

• Where the air is slow moving or stationary

The edges are called “Fronts”

AIR MASS CLASSIFICATION
• Named by source Region
Temperature Humidity
• Polar (cold) • Maritime (moist)
• Tropic (warm) • Continental (Dry)

cP continental polar cold, dry, stable

cT continental tropical hot, dry, stable air
aloft--unstable surface air
mP maritime polar cool, moist, and
unstable
mT maritime tropical warm, moist, usually
unstable
Types of Air Masses and How They Form
An air mass is a large body of air with relatively uniform temperature, humidity, and pressure. Air masses move with the
global atmospheric system and can change as the move over landmasses and oceans, picking up or loosing warmth and
moisture as they move.

As air masses move they change to match the attributes of the next region. For instance, if a polar (or Arctic) air mass
moves south over the North American continent it will become warmer and dryer (becoming a temperate-continental air
mass; see example in Figure 8-15). If it moves east over the Atlantic Ocean it may become warmer and pick up moisture
and become a temperate-maritime air mass. When a maritime air mass moves over a large landmass it can loose its
moisture, heat up, and become a continental air mass.

Air masses can move rapidly (if air pressure gradients are high). Air masses can control the weather for a relatively long
periods ranging from days to months. They can also stagnate in one region causing long periods or rain or drought.
Tropical storms and hurricanes can form in association with tropical-maritime air masses. Most weather occurs along
around air masses at boundaries called fronts (discussed below).
Types of air mass are classed by where they form:

Maritime

Continental
• Polar - source regions above 60° north and south:
Polar Maritime
(cold and moist)

Polar Continental
(cold and dry)
• Temperate - between 25° and 60°N/S:
Temperate Maritime
(cool and wet)

Temperate Continental
(warm and dry)
• Tropical - source regions within about 25° of the equator:
Tropical Maritime
(warm and wet)

Tropical Continental
(hot and dry)
 A FRONT IS THE BOUNDARY OF AN AIR
MASS

2 types Cold and Warm

A Cold Front
• Cold air advancing in a
region of warmer air forces
lighter warm air to rise
above it
• thunderstorms develop
WARM FRONTS
• Warm air mass moves
into a region of cold air
warm air rises along a
ramp forming
nimbostratus clouds and
convection cells

• Light but steadily

precipitating stratus clouds
in stable air
 OCCLUDED FRONTS
• warm air mass is
met, raised and
overtaken by a
cold air mass

• The warm air is forced

up quickly

Produces unstable air

and thunderstorms
Heavy rain/flooding
Lightning
Tornadoes
Weather Fronts
A weather front is a boundary separating two masses of air of different densities (Figure 8-24). Fronts are classified as to
which type of air mass (cold or warm) is replacing the other.

A cold front forms along the leading edge of a cold air mass displacing a warmer (less dense) air mass. Cold fronts are
typically narrow bands of showers and thunderstorm and are most commonly associated with severe weather
condition.

A warm front is the leading edge of a warmer air mass replacing (riding up and over) a colder air mass. If the front is
essentially not moving (i.e. the air masses are not moving) it is called a stationary front. Warm fronts typically have a
gentle slope so the air rising along the frontal surface is gradual. This configurations results in widespread stratus
(strato-form) cloud layers with precipitation near the rear of the frontal boundary. Warm fronts typically quite extensive,
and can create typically gray skies and dismal weather—an all too common occurrence in parts of the Midwest and
Northeastern United States as slow-moving warm fronts stall over the regions. This can happen any time of year. It
reflects that warm, moist air is flowing above cooler air down below, creating the gray stratus cloud layer in-between.

Colliding air masses can have both warm fronts. For instance, when a warm, moist air mass (such a maritime-tropical air
mass) encounters a cold, dry air mass (such a polar continental air mass), both warm fronts and cold fronts can form as
air rotates around a center of low pressure (as illustrated in the lower graphic of Figure 8-24). This rotation is driven by
the Coriolis effect (discussed below).
The imbalance of temperature caused by solar energy, drives
pressure imbalances that produce wind, clouds, storms,
thunder, lightning, tornados and hurricanes
The Equator gets the most
solar energy of any region

-Extreme heat
-High amount of evaporated water vapor
in the air

Weather/Climate is very stable and

predictable
Global Air flow starts at the Equator

Heat and vapor rise

L
Low Pressure form from the
Air rising
 This pattern of air flow (pressure imbalance) may start at
the equator, but it continues to make global convection loop
cycles that extent to the polar regions

High Low High Low

Pressure Pressure Pressure Pressure
Global wind cells affect climate

Band of High Pressure= Falling dry air = Desert Climate

Equator = Low Pressure = Rainforest climate

Band of High Pressure= Falling dry air = Desert Climate

 Earth's Atmospheric Circulation System
The global atmospheric circulation system influences the movement of air masses in
general wind belts that move air in rotating masses within zones around the planet.
These wind belts seem relatively stable when viewed in a long-term view (decades).
However, fluctuations may occur on seasonal or annual basis. The wind belts are
influenced by the Coriolis effect and large-scale convection patterns in the atmosphere
These relatively stationary wind belts impact the surface of the oceans, creating
currents that circulate waters in the oceans.

Studies of the atmosphere have show that their are 3 major atmospheric systems called
circulation cells
• Three global
winds cells
Hadley, Ferrel
& Polar

• These three
cells occurs
above and
below the
equator to
balance hot
and cold
Circulation Cells in Earth's Atmosphere
Three major circulation cells move air, heat, and moisture
through the atmosphere between the equatorial regions to the
polar regions. These cells are constantly changing due to
regional air pressure changes under the influence of the
Coriolis effect.

Hadley cells (0° to 30° N and S of equator)

• Responsible for the Trade Winds: They blow NE in N.
Hemisphere and SE in S. Hemisphere.

Ferrel cells (30° to 60° N and S of equator)

• Responsible for the Prevailing Westerlies in both
hemispheres.

Polar cells (60° to 90° N and S)

• Responsible for the Polar Easterlies in both hemispheres.
 Air that is falling or rising
= No wind blowing across the surface

(Early ships discovered them as dead zones)

• At the equator 0 latitude, this condition is known as the
Doldrums. At 30 N and S they are the Horse latitudes- the
two global bands of deserts.
• The Equator/Doldrums region is also known as the ITCZ
(Intertropical Convergence Zone) because two Hadley
Cells converge there.
 Where Global wind loops meet, there
is very high speed winds called
the ‘Jet Stream’

We are here

Masses of air can move from

the tropics, bringing us warm
humid weather.

Masses of air can move from

The polar region, bringing us
cold dry weather.

When air masses meet, they

create large clouds and rain
 Jet Streams
• Fast flowing, narrow,
meandering air currents in
the atmospheres 200mph+

• Jet streams can split into two

or more parts, combine, or
flow in various directions
Altitude: 30,000–39,000ft

What is the Jet Stream?

A jet stream is a narrow, variable band of very strong winds in the upper troposphere. They are predominantly westerly air
currents encircling the globe several miles above the Earth. There are typically two or three jet streams in each of the
northern and southern hemispheres. These high-speed wind currents often move at speeds exceeding 250 miles (400 km)
per hour at altitudes of 6 to 9 miles (10 to 15 km). Jet streams are influenced by moving air masses and the Coriolis effect
causing them to meander and sometime split.
Our daily weather is influenced by the positions of these Jet Streams

Our Prevailing Wind in the U.S

The Westerlies
 The Westerlies determine
American weather patterns

These winds form because air

moving from
60° to 30° N/S latitude
Polar Jet from the North
can move down

The resulting motion is a belt

of winds that move out of the
west and brings storms cut
off from the Jets streams
rolling across the country
 Equatorial Doldrums and Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
The equatorial doldrums are associated with the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ)
the region that circles the Earth near the equator, where the trade winds of the Northern
and Southern Hemispheres converge (Figure 8-33).

The doldrums are:

• Area of low atmospheric pressure with lots of rain.

• Located on equator where there is least influence of the Coriolis effect.
• Low wind area with calms, sudden storms, and light unpredictable winds

Seasonal shifts in the location of the ITCZ affects rainfall in many equatorial regions,
resulting in the wet and dry seasons of the tropics rather than the cold and warm seasons
of higher latitudes. The ITCZ moves north during winter in the northern hemisphere and
south in the summer.
 The Tropical Easterlies (Trade Winds)
During the age of sailing ships, ship captains learned take advantage of the prevailing wind belts to
cross the oceans. Two belts of trade winds encircle the Earth, blowing from the tropical high-pressure
belts (Hadley Cells) to the low-pressure zone of the equatorial inter-tropical convergence zone. The
tropical easterly wind belts near the equatorial region are also called the Trade Winds. Trade winds
blow steadily toward the equator from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere, or the southeast
in the Southern Hemisphere
Horse Latitudes
The horse latitudes are belts of calm air and sea occurring in both the northern and southern hemispheres
between the trade winds and the westerlies (roughly 30-38 degrees north and south of the equator). Horse
latitudes separate the Hadley and Ferrel Cells. It is a region also called the subtropical high—a belt of very dry
because of high pressure, little rain. Horse latitudes roughly correspond with major desert regions of the world.
The horse latitudes got it name from historic legends describe ships becoming becalmed when crossing the horse
latitudes and running out of water and unable to re supply. Sailors would throw horses on the ships overboard.
How much change could happen from
a rise in water temperature?

Lets examine how a small change in water temperature

off the coast of Peru regularly swings weather patterns
out of order as El Nino years
This slight change in water temp is
called “El Nino” or ENSO

This environmental “hiccup” from cold to warm in the

eastern pacific shifts global pattern weather and cause
extreme flooding and draught.

Remember Peru and Cold Water

During a Normal Year

Cold water upwells to Peru

Brings sardines to coast and keeps weather mild

El Niño Normal
 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
El Niño
• Occurs when the water stops upwelling
• Cold is replaced by warm

La Niña
• A heightened period of cold upwelling
Was this an El Nino year?
El Niño and La Niña
Impacts of El Niño
El Nino makes the weather CHANGE

Floods Heat
Heat Floods

Floods +
Heat

Heat
Most places either get Warmer or Wetter
Only U.S East Coast gets colder
El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific Ocean [also called El Niño-La Niña Cycles] is associated with a band of
warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific. El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is
perhaps the most important ocean-atmosphere interaction phenomenon to cause cyclic global climate variability. Here's
how the ENSO cycle works: ENSO involves the interactions of ocean currents, ocean temperatures, and atmospheric effects,
over time.

Pacific Ocean Currents Involved With ENSO

• West moving winds at the Equator help to drive the two Pacific Subtropical Gyres (northern and southern gyres

• In the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, the western-intensified Kuroshio Current moves up the Asian seaboard (warming
China, Japan), flows east with the North Pacific Current, then south as the California Current along the west coast of North
America.

• In the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre, the western intensified East Australian Current moves south and merges with the
Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the completes the gyre as the Peru Current (flowing northward along the west coast of South
America).
ENSO Ocean Temperature Effects
ENSO Cycles are influenced by ocean surface temperatures throughout the Equatorial Pacific Ocean region. During
the El Niño periods, ocean surface temperatures are much warmer than the La Niña periods. This is a reflection of
the amount of cloud cover (deflecting incoming solar radiation) and winds driving cold upwelling currents to the
ocean surface in the equatorial region. During El Niño periods, the Pacific Warm Pool grows larger and more
intense in the Eastern Pacific region near Australia and Indonesia

ENSO Weather Effects And the Walker Cell

• The rising warm-moist air in the western Pacific contrasts with the cool sinking air along South America,
resulting in the Walker Cell an unstable equatorial air circulation pattern region in the Pacific Ocean

The Walker Cell operates perpendicular (east to west, not north to south like the Hadley, Farrell, and Polar
circulation cells the intensity Walker Cell weather pattern is controlled by temperature contrasts on opposite sides
of the Pacific Basin along the equator.
Impacts of ENSO Cycles
ENSO cycles [El Niño-La Niña Cycles] consist of shifting weather and oceanographic conditions in the tropical Pacific region

During El Niño:
• High and low atmospheric pressures systems reverse across the equatorial Pacific region. As a result the Walker Cell
circulation pattern is very weak.
• Winds become slack or blow against the west-moving Equatorial Current.
• The west-moving Equatorial Current mounds warm water on eastern side of Pacific Basin. near Australia and Indonesia.
• Along the coast of South America, a normally thin temperate thermocline replaced with a thick tropical thermocline.
• This thick thermocline prevents mixing of deep cold nutrient rich water because of the buoyancy of extra warm surface
water.
• The tropical thermocline shuts down upwelling currents that would otherwise provide nutrients to the base of the food
chain in shallow ocean waters, resulting in a collapse of marine fisheries offshore (often resulting in economic and
ecological catastrophe along South America's west coast).
• During El Niño, the warm conditions typically arrive around Christmas, so El Niño refers to the Christ Child in Peruvian
weather— El Niño conditions offshore results in both warm and wet conditions on land.
During La Niña:
• The Walker Cell circulation intensifies across the equatorial Pacific region.
• This increase in windy weather condition pulls the thick warm waters away from the
coast of South America.
• As a result, there is increased cooling and more upwelling along the coast, enhancing
ocean productivity.
• Cool conditions offshore results in persisting drought conditions on land in South
America.

Global significance of ENSO cycles:

These fluctuating cycles of ocean surface water temperatures influence climate factors
(warm/wet or cool/dry) conditions around the entire Pacific Basin, if not the entire world.
Monitoring for El Niño is conducted by:
• studies of wind speed and direction on the Equatorial regions.
• monitoring high and low pressure systems on the Equatorial regions.
• monitoring water temperature changes on Equatorial regions, mainly warming on east
side of Pacific Basin.
• measuring water heights (mounding) above average sea level along the Equator.