Anticyclone
surface winds spiralling out from a high-pressure area in a clockwise direction
cyclone
winds spiralling into a low pressure area in a counter-clockwise direction
ITCZ
Thermally caused low pressure area (equatorial low)
Jet stream
most prominent movement in upper level westerly wind flows. Irregular, concentrated, sinuous bands of geostrophic wind
Asian Monsoon Patterns
- moisture laden air is driven towards the low-pressure ITCZ line
Main types of local winds
Land and Sea Breezes
Mountain and Valley Breezes
Gravity Drainage Winds
Land and Sea Breezes
created by different heating characteristics of land/water surfaces
Mountain/Valley Breezes
Valley slopes: heat sooner during the day than floors
At night, heat is lost from the slopes and then subsides downslope where warmer, less dense air remains
Gravity Drainage Winds
- Katabatic winds, Mistral winds
- cold air from high eleveations flows downhill at a speed causing frost damage on the slope/valley below
- dry, warm downslope winds flow downhill, can cause sublimation
Gyre
Oceanic circulation systems
Ocean Currents are shaped by…
- Wind’s frictional drag
- Coriolis force
- density differences
- Structural config. of continents/ocean flow
- astronomical forces causing tides
