BIO120H1 Lecture Notes - Convergence Zone, Atmospheric Circulation
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BIO120H1 Full Course Notes
Verified Note
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Document Summary
Conditions are not exhaustible: temperature, ph, salinity, etc. Conditions vary across space and time; we envision gradients of conditions. Organisms perform best at certain levels, i. e. , at certain portions of a gradient. Nutrients (nitrogen most important, then phosphorous, then potassium) Atmospheric circulation: hadley cells make equatorial regions rainy. Low pressure areas = rainy weather i. e. , in the tropics. Hadley cells: the idea that air circulates between cooling down as it rises and heating up as it falls. Inter-tropical convergence zone: high rising air with precipitation following. Variability between temperatures are more drastic in the northern hemisphere because of greater land mass and less moisture. Inter-tropical convergence zone shifts seasonally, producing rainy and dry seasons in some parts of the tropics. Coupled cells + coriolis effect = prevailing wind patterns. Ferrel cell: some of the hot air from the hadley cell travels into the ferrel cell. Ferrel cell and the hadley cell are coupled.
