ATOC 184 Lecture 8: January 31 2019:Lecture 8: Air Masses and fronts
4 Feb 2019
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January 31 2019:lecture 8: air masses and fronts. Some volume of air that has similar characteristics of temperature and water vapour content. Air masses form when air remains over relatively flat terrain with uniform surface characteristics for an extended period of time. Continental artic regions such as canada and siberia. Cool oceanic regions such as the north atlantic and north pacific. Deserts such as the sahara and american southwest desert. Tropical oceanic regions such as the caribbean. Air masses are generally classified by their temperature. Can move as they become associated with storms. All air masses are high pressure systems. Air masses are generally separated by the jetstream. Boundaries between different types of air masses. Extremely important because most precipitation and severe types of weather occurs in the vicinity of fronts. Warm air is lifted because it is less dense. Takes longer to form because needs to push more dense cold air out of the way.
