Academic Earth/Space Science : Air Pressure and Winds

studied byStudied by 6 people
5.0(1)
Get a hint
Hint

Air pressure

1 / 45

flashcard set

Earn XP

Description and Tags

Timlin, Block 3

Geology

9th

46 Terms

1

Air pressure

Pressure exerted by the weight of air above.

New cards
2

Because it is exerted in all directions

Why doesn't air pressure crush things?

New cards
3

Mercury barometer, aneroid barometer

What instruments are used to measure air pressure?

New cards
4

Mercury barometer

Created by Torricelli, student of Galileo. Used by filling a glass tube closed at one end with mercury and when mercury flows out of the tube you can see atmospheric pressure.

New cards
5

Aneroid barometer

Uses a metal chamber with air removed it changes shape and compresses as air pressure increases, more portable and smaller, non-toxic.

New cards
6

1013.2 millibars

What is standard sea level pressure in millibars?

New cards
7

Torricelli, Galileo's student

Who invented the mercury barometer?

New cards
8

Solar radiation

What is the ultimate energy source for winds?

New cards
9

Generate wind

What do pressure differences do?

New cards
10

Pressure differences, Coriolis effect, friction

What factors influence winds?

New cards
11

Widely spaces isobars indicate a weak pressure gradient and light winds, whereas closely spaces isobars are opposite

What is the relationship between closely and widely spaced isobars?

New cards
12

Wind

The horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of lower pressure

New cards
13

Jet streams

Fast moving rivers of air above the friction layer

New cards
14

wind blows to the right

How does the Coriolis effect influence wind in the Northern Hemisphere?

New cards
15

Wind deflects to the left

How does the Coriolis effect influence wind in the Southern Hemisphere?

New cards
16

It is strongest at the poles and weakest at the equator

Where is the Coriolis effect the strongest and the weakest?

New cards
17

In both hemispheres differences in air pressure cause a net flow of air inward around a cyclone

How do low pressure systems appear in both hemispheres?

New cards
18

In both hemispheres differences in air pressure cause a net flow of air outward around an anticyclone

How do high pressure systems appear in both hemispheres?

New cards
19

Cyclones

Centers of low pressure, the pressure decreases from the outer isobars toward the center.

New cards
20

Anticyclones

centers of high pressure, the pressure increases from the outside towards the center

New cards
21

Warm air rises

What happens to warm air in a cyclone?

New cards
22

Warm air sinks

What happens to warm air in an anticyclone?

New cards
23

Rainy weather

What kind of weather are cyclones associated with?

New cards
24

fair weather

What kind of weather are anticyclone associated with?

New cards
25

Air spirals in toward the center in a counter-clockwise pattern

movement of a cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere

New cards
26

Air spirals in towards the center in a clockwise pattern

Movement of a cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere

New cards
27

Air spirals outwards in a clockwise pattern

Movement in an anticyclone (Northern Hemisphere)

New cards
28

Air spirals outwards in a counterclockwise pattern

Movement for an anticyclone (Southern Hemisphere)

New cards
29

Monsoon

Seasonal changes in wind direction, during warm months areas like India experience a flow of warm water laden air from the ocean which produces a rainy _________ summer.

New cards
30

Trade winds

two belts of winds that blow almost constantly from easterly directions and are located on the north and south sides of the subtropical highs.

New cards
31

Westerlies

dominant west-to-east motion of the atmosphere that characterizes the regions on the poleward side of the subtropical highs.

New cards
32

Polar easterlies

winds that blow from the polar high toward the subpolar low. These winds are not constant like the trade winds.

New cards
33

Equatorial low

a belt of low pressure lying near the equator and between the subtropical highs

New cards
34

subtropical high

A belt of high pressure located at approximately 30o N and 30o S, which pushes heavy subsiding air outward toward both north and south.

New cards
35

Subpolar low

belt of low air pressure at about 60 degrees north and 60 degrees south latitude

New cards
36

Local winds

Small winds produced by a locally generated pressure gradient, caused by topographic effects or by variations in surface composition, land and water, in the immediate area.

New cards
37

Global winds

winds that blow steadily from specific directions over long distances

New cards
38

Sea breezes

During daylight hours, the air above land heats and rises, creating a local zone of lower air pressure. Cooler, denser air over the water moves onto the land.

New cards
39

Land breezes

At night the land cools more rapidly than the sea generating an offshore flow.

New cards
40

Anemometer

What instrument is used to measure wind speed?

New cards
41

After the direction from which they come

How are winds named?

New cards
42

El Niño

At irregular intervals of 3–7 years, these warm countercurrents become unusually strong and replace normally cold offshore waters with warm equatorial waters. Episodes of ocean warming that affect the eastern tropical Pacific.

New cards
43

La Nina

When surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific are colder than average.

New cards
44

Things like fishing and farming in a negative way especially to countries in the Southern Hemisphere

What does El Niño effect?

New cards
45

Strong winds

what do close isobars indicate?

New cards
46

light winds

What do widely spaced isobars indicate?

New cards

Explore top notes

note Note
studied byStudied by 3 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 54 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 18 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 2 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 8 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 7 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 3 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 169 people
... ago
5.0(4)

Explore top flashcards

flashcards Flashcard (125)
studied byStudied by 4 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (31)
studied byStudied by 12 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (62)
studied byStudied by 12 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (65)
studied byStudied by 13 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (64)
studied byStudied by 6 people
... ago
4.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (48)
studied byStudied by 18 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (49)
studied byStudied by 52 people
... ago
5.0(3)
flashcards Flashcard (180)
studied byStudied by 30 people
... ago
4.3(3)
robot