The document discusses pressure, density, and wind. It defines pressure and atmospheric pressure, and describes how barometers are used to measure air pressure. It also defines density and explains how the density of gases and air can impact weather. Additionally, it discusses the causes and effects of wind, including global wind patterns and weather systems like high and low pressure areas.
The document discusses pressure, density, and wind. It defines pressure and atmospheric pressure, and describes how barometers are used to measure air pressure. It also defines density and explains how the density of gases and air can impact weather. Additionally, it discusses the causes and effects of wind, including global wind patterns and weather systems like high and low pressure areas.
The document discusses pressure, density, and wind. It defines pressure and atmospheric pressure, and describes how barometers are used to measure air pressure. It also defines density and explains how the density of gases and air can impact weather. Additionally, it discusses the causes and effects of wind, including global wind patterns and weather systems like high and low pressure areas.
The document discusses pressure, density, and wind. It defines pressure and atmospheric pressure, and describes how barometers are used to measure air pressure. It also defines density and explains how the density of gases and air can impact weather. Additionally, it discusses the causes and effects of wind, including global wind patterns and weather systems like high and low pressure areas.
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Pressure, density and wind
Reporter: Ibalig, Azarel
What is Pressure?
• Is the perpendicular force per unit area or the stress at a point within a confined fluid.
• Pascal’s Law/principle – “In a fluid at rest in a container, a pressure change in one part is transmitted without loss to every portion of the fluid and to the walls of container”.
Atmospheric Pressure
The air around you has weight and it presses against everything it touches. That pressure is called Atmospheric pressure or air pressure.
It is the force exerted on a surface by the air above it as gravity pulls to earth.
Barometer
- A tool that measures air pressure.
- In a barometer, a column of mercury in a glass tube rises or falls as the weight of the atmosphere changes.
- Meteorologists describe the atmospheric pressure by how high the mercury rises.
• Atmospheric pressure drops as altitude increases.
• As the pressure decreases, the amount of oxygen available to breathe also decreases.
• At very high altitude, atmospheric pressure and available oxygen get so low that people can become sick and even die.
• Mountain climbers use bottled oxygen when ascending very high peaks.
• Quickly moving from higher pressure to lower pressure can cause Decompression Sickness/ “the bends”.
• Atmospheric pressure is an indicator of weather.
• When a low-pressure system moves into an area, it usually leads to cloudiness, wind and precipitation. High-pressure systems usually lead to fair, calm weather.
Density
• Is the relationship between the mass of the substance and how much space it takes up (volume)
• The mass of atoms, their size and how they are arranged determine the density of a substance. Ex: if an object is more dense than the water, it will sink when placed in water, it will float if less dense. • Density describes how tightly packed something is. An object with a lot of material in a small space is more dense than an object that has lots of air space included.
• In the atmosphere gas that is less dense has a lower concentration of molecules per volume than a denser gas and will tend to rise compared to the air around it.
• gasoline vapor is heavier than air molecules and so tends to stay near the ground when you fill up your gas tank, which can lead to a fire hazard if the lingering vapor encounters a spark.
• Warm air is less dense than cooler air.
Air density varies with the relative humidity (amount of water vapor molecules in the air) along with temperature.
• Water vapor molecules are composed of Hydrogen (H) and Oxygen (O) molecules. Hydrogen has a molecular weight of 1.01 g/mol. Dry air is composed mostly of Nitrogen molecules since Earth’s atmosphere is 78% N and 21% O. nitrogen has the molecular weight of 14.0 g/mol.
• Areas of warm rising air often result in the development of clouds and precipitation in the regions where the vertical movement of air is strongest.
Wind
• Is the movement of air caused by the uneven heating of the Earth by the sun.
• It can dry clothes in summer and chill you to the bone in winter.
• It is strong enough to carry ships across the ocean and rip huge trees from the ground.
• Equalizer of atmosphere, transporting heat, moisture, pollutants and dust great distances around the globe.
Low-pressure systems (usually as a result of warming)
• At the equator, the sun warms the water and air more than it does the rest of the globe. Warm equatorial air rises higher into the atmosphere and migrates toward the poles. It is usually associated with storms.
High-pressure systems (usually result of cooling)
• Cooler, denser air moves over earth’s surface toward the equator to replace the heated air. It usually associated with clear weather.
Fronts
• Boundary between Low-pressure and High-pressure areas.
5 major wind zones
Polar Easterlies dry, cold prevailing winds that blow from the east. They emanate from the polar highs, areas of high pressure around the North and South poles. Westerlies are prevailing winds that blow from the west at mid-latitudes. Westerlies are strongest in the winter, when pressure over the poles is low, and weakest in summer, when the polar high creates stronger polar easterlies.
Horse Latitudes - Are narrow zone of warm, dry climates between westerlies and the trade winds. Horse Latitudes are about 30 and 35 degrees north and south. - Many deserts, from the rainless Atacama of South America to the arid Kalahari of Africa, are part of the horse latitudes. - strong winds are short in duration.
Trade winds - Powerful prevailing winds that blow from the east across the tropics. - Trade winds are very predictable. They have been instrumental in the history of exploration, communication and trade. - Ships relied on the trade winds to establish quick, reliable routes across the vast Atlantic and later, Pacific Oceans. - Tropical storms, including hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons develop as trade winds.
Doldrums - The area around Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) - Prevailing winds in the doldrums are very weak and the weather is unusually calm. - Areas of low-pressure around the equator where trade winds converge.
