GEOL 1410 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Indian Ocean, Wind Direction, Hurricane Andrew
10 Sep 2018
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Document Summary
Earth (and vertically) from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure: high pressure= cold air, fair weather, low pressure= warm air, stormy weather. General circulation of the atmosphere- rotating air bodies: winds blow around low pressure areas (cid:498)rotating air bodies(cid:499) In northern hemisphere: rising warm air creates low pressure area, air travels towards low pressure area in a counterclockwise direction known as an anticyclone. How hurricanes form: mechanism for excess tropical heat transported to mid-latitudes. Assessing hurricane strength: assessed using the saffir-simpson scale, category 1: wind damage to trees and mobile homes, category 2: wind blows down trees with major damage to homes and roofs. Hurricane hazards: deaths have decreased, hurricane damage is increased, destruction and death are caused by, strong winds, storm surges, the rise in sea level during a storm is due to winds that push water ashore above normal levels.
