EESA09H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Solar Wind, Wind Chill, Atmospheric Escape
17 May 2018
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Department
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Wind
EESA09-Lecture 1- Overview of Wind
Why study wind?
●Human mythology
○In ancient times, mythology was structured around the people’s understanding
of wind.
●Destructiveness- Tornadoes, hurricanes
○Hurricane Sandy: The hurricane moved toward Canada and had many effects on
North America
●Climatic importance- wind chill, local cooling and heating, chinooks
●Power source- wind power
Types and Characteristics of Wind:
●Wind is actually playing a significant role in every chemical and mechanical process that
occurs on Earth. “Wind basically runs the whole Universe”
●Types of wind can be classified depending on its composition (in terms of gases), scale
and types of forces that are associated with wind
●Two main categories for universal wind include:
○Solar Wind:
■Consists of charged particles (protons and electrons)
■The purpose of solar winds govern activity in the solar system
■These winds, such as the heat from the sun move in the direction from
the sun to the rest of space and can move at speeds of 900 km/s at a
temperature of 1 degrees Celsius
■ Its effect on Earth is minimal
■Video Notes: ‘What is Solar Wind and how affect the Earth’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zOlkIyg3iE
Wind
●The sun generates powerful magnetic fields and when fields
collide, the solar wind results
●If Astronauts are exposed to solar wind, it could kill them
●The magnetic field, generated by the Earth’s core, acts as the
Earth’s invisible shield from solar wind.
The Earth’s magnetic field results from the convection of the thick molten
iron surrounding the very dense core.
○Planetary Wind:
■Any wind system that exists on Earth due to solar radiation or other
forces that occur on Earth
■Associated with most of the meteorological processes that affect our
weather and climate
■The majority of this class with study the effects of planetary wind
Wind Mythology: How different cultures named and considered the power of the winds that
they encountered in their life with gods and goddesses
●Origins in Greek Mythology (Euro-centric)
○There are four Greek gods that are associated with wind:
■Zephyrus- gentle, west wind (Autumn or spring wind)
■Boreas- Chilly, north wind (Fall or winter winds)
■Notos- Southern rain bringer (Summer rains)
■Eurus- Ill-tempered east breeze (Stormy seasons)
●Notice that these four ‘breezes’ are similar to the four seasons
that we experience (in parentheses above).
●Chinese Mythology
○Feng Po Po is the name of the wind goddess, who was replaced by Feng Po
●Japanese Mythology
○The God of Wind, one of the earliest gods of Shinto, is called Fujin
Document Summary
In ancient times, mythology was structured around the people"s understanding of wind. Hurricane sandy: the hurricane moved toward canada and had many effects on. Climatic importance- wind chill, local cooling and heating, chinooks. Wind is actually playing a significant role in every chemical and mechanical process that occurs on earth. Types of wind can be classified depending on its composition (in terms of gases), scale and types of forces that are associated with wind. Two main categories for universal wind include: Consists of charged particles (protons and electrons) The purpose of solar winds govern activity in the solar system. These winds, such as the heat from the sun move in the direction from the sun to the rest of space and can move at speeds of 900 km/s at a temperature of 1 degrees celsius. Video notes: what is solar wind and how affect the earth" https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=2zolkiyg3ie.
