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    Air-Sea Interaction

    Uploaded by

    Frank Moses

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Air-Sea Interaction

    Uploaded by

    Frank Moses
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    1 views14 pages

    Air-Sea Interaction

    Uploaded by

    Frank Moses

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    You are on page 1of 14

    CHAPTER 6

    Air-Sea Interaction

    Fig. 6.11

    Overview
    „ Atmosphere and ocean one
    interdependent system
    „ Solar energy creates winds

    „ Winds drive surface ocean currents


    and waves
    „ Examples of interactions:

    „ ElNiñ
    Niño-Southern Oscillation
    „ Greenhouse effect

    Seasons
    „ Earth’
    Earth’s axis of rotation tilted with respect
    to ecliptic
    „ Tilt responsible for seasons
    „ Vernal (spring) equinox
    „ Summer solstice

    „ Autumnal equinox

    „ Winter solstice

    „ Seasonal changes and day/night cause


    unequal solar heating of Earth’
    Earth’s surface

    1
    Seasons

    Fig. 6-1

    Uneven solar heating


    „ Angle of incidence of solar rays per area
    „ Equatorial regions more heat
    „ Polar regions less heat

    „ Thickness of atmosphere
    „ Albedo
    „ Day/night
    „ Seasons

    Insert Fig. 6-3

    2
    Oceanic heat flow

    „ High latitudes more heat lost than gained


    „ Due to albedo of ice and high incidence
    of solar rays
    „ Low latitudes more heat gained than lost

    Physical properties of atmosphere


    „ Atmosphere
    mostly nitrogen
    (N2) and oxygen
    (O2)
    „ Temperature
    profile of lower
    atmosphere
    „ Troposphere –
    temperature
    cools with
    increasing
    altitude
    Fig. 6.4

    Physical properties of atmosphere

    „ Warm air, less


    dense (rises)
    „ Cool air, more
    dense (sinks)
    „ Moist air, less
    dense (rises)
    „ Dry air, more
    dense (sinks)
    Fig. 6.5

    3
    Movements in atmosphere

    Fig. 6.6

    „ Air (wind) always moves from regions of high


    pressure to low
    „ Cool dense air, higher surface pressure
    „ Warm less dense air, lower surface pressure

    Movements
    in air
    Non-rotating Earth
    „ Air (wind)
    always moves
    from regions of
    high pressure
    to low
    „ Convection or
    circulation cell

    Fig. 6.7

    Movements in air on a rotating Earth


    „ Coriolis effect causes deflection in moving
    body
    „ Due to Earth’
    Earth’s rotation to east
    „ Most pronounced on objects that move
    long distances across latitudes
    „ Deflection to right in Northern Hemisphere
    „ Deflection to left in Southern Hemisphere
    „ Maximum Coriolis effect at poles
    „ No Coriolis effect at equator

    4
    Movements in air on a rotating
    Earth

    Fig. 6.9

    Global atmospheric circulation


    „ Circulation cells as air changes density due
    to:
    „ Changes in air temperature

    „ Changes in water vapor content

    „ Circulation cells
    „ Hadley cells (0o to 30o N and S)

    „ Ferrel cells (30o to 60o N and S)

    „ Polar cells (60o to 90o N and S)

    Global atmospheric circulation


    „ High pressure zones
    „ Subtropical highs
    „ Polar highs

    „ Clear skies

    „ Low pressure zones


    „ Equatorial low
    „ Subpolar lows
    „ Overcast skies with lots of precipitation

    5
    Fig. 6.10

    Global wind belts


    „ Trade winds
    „ Northeast trades in Northern Hemisphere
    „ Southeast trades in Southern Hemisphere
    „ Prevailing westerlies
    „ Polar easterlies
    „ Boundaries between wind belts
    „ Doldrums or Intertropical Convergence Zone
    (ITCZ)
    „ Horse latitudes
    „ Polar fronts

    Modifications to idealized 3-
    3-cell
    model of atmospheric circulation

    „ More complex in nature due to


    „ Seasonal changes

    „ Distribution of continents and ocean

    „ Differences in heat capacity


    between continents and ocean
    „ Monsoon winds

    6
    Actual pressure zones and winds

    Fig. 6.11

    Ocean weather and climate


    patterns
    „ Weather – conditions of atmosphere at
    particular time and place
    „ Climate – long-
    long-term average of weather
    „ Northern hemisphere winds move
    counterclockwise (cyclonic) around a low
    pressure region
    „ Southern hemisphere winds move
    clockwise (anticyclonic) around a low
    pressure region

    Coastal winds
    „ Solar heating
    „ Different heat
    capacities of
    land and water
    „ Sea breeze
    „ From ocean to
    land
    „ Land breeze
    „ From land to
    ocean
    Fig. 6.13

    7
    Fronts and storms
    „ Air masses meet at fronts
    „ Storms typically develop at fronts

    Fig. 6.14

    Fig. 6.15

    Tropical cyclones (hurricanes)


    „ Large rotating masses of low pressure
    „ Strong winds, torrential rain
    „ Classified by maximum sustained wind speed

    Fig. 6.16

    8
    Hurricane
    morphology
    and
    movement

    Fig. 6.17

    Hurricane destruction
    „ Fast winds
    „ Flooding from torrential rains

    „ Storm surge most damaging


    Historical examples:
    Galveston, TX, 1900
    Hurricane Andrew, 1992
    Hurricane Mitch, 1998

    Fig. 6.18

    9
    Ocean’
    Ocean’s climate patterns
    „ Open ocean’
    ocean’s climate regions parallel to
    latitude
    „ May be modified by surface ocean
    currents
    „ Equatorial regions – warm, lots of rain

    „ Tropical regions – warm, less rain, trade


    winds
    „ Subtropical regions – rather warm, high
    rate of evaporation, weak winds

    Ocean’s climate patterns


    „ Temperate regions – strong
    westerlies
    „ Subpolar regions – cool, winter sea
    ice, lots of snow
    „ Polar regions – cold, sea ice, polar
    high pressure

    Ocean’
    Ocean’s climate patterns

    Fig. 6.20

    10
    Polar oceans and sea ice

    „ Sea ice or masses of frozen seawater form


    in high latitude oceans
    „ Begins as small needle-
    needle-like ice crystals
    „ Slush turns into thin sheets that break into
    „ Pancake ice that coalesce to
    „ Ice floes
    „ Rate of formation depends on
    temperature

    Polar
    oceans and
    sea ice

    Fig. 6.21

    Polar oceans and icebergs


    „ Icebergs – fragments
    of glaciers or shelf ice

    Fig. 6-23

    11
    Greenhouse effect „ Trace atmosphere
    gases absorb heat
    reradiated from
    surface of Earth
    „ Infrared radiation
    released by Earth
    „ Solar radiation
    mostly ultraviolet
    and visible region
    of electromagnetic
    spectrum
    Fig. 6.24

    Earth’
    Earth’s heat budget
    „ Earth maintained a nearly constant average
    temperature because of equal rates of heat gain
    and heat loss

    Fig. 6.25

    Greenhouse gases
    „ Absorb longer wave radiation from Earth
    „ Water vapor
    „ Carbon dioxide (CO2)
    „ Other trace gases: methane, nitrous oxide,
    ozone, and chlorofluorocarbons

    Fig. 6.26

    12
    Global warming over last 100 years
    „ Average global temperature increased

    „ Part of warming due to anthropogenic


    greenhouse (heat-
    (heat-trapping) gases such
    as CO2

    Fig. 6.28

    Fig. 6.29

    Possible consequences of global


    warming
    „ Melting glaciers
    „ Shift in species distribution
    „ Warmer oceans
    „ More frequent and more intense storms

    „ Changes in deep ocean circulation

    „ Shifts in areas of rain/drought


    „ Rising sea level

    13
    Reducing greenhouse gases
    „ Greater fuel efficiency
    „ Alternative fuels
    „ Re-
    Re-forestation
    „ Eliminate chlorofluorocarbons
    „ Reduce CO2 emissions
    „ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
    1988
    „ Kyoto Protocol 1997

    Ocean’s role in reducing CO2


    „ Oceans absorbs CO2 from atmosphere
    „ CO2 incorporated in organisms and
    carbonate shells (tests)
    „ Stored as biogenous calcareous sediments
    and fossil fuels
    „ Ocean is repository or sink for CO2
    „ Add iron to tropical oceans to “fertilize”
    fertilize”
    oceans (increase biologic productivity)

    End of
    CHAPTER
    6
    Air-
    Air-Sea
    Interaction

    Fig. 6.3

    14

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