GG101 Lecture Notes - Azores High, Subtropics, Westerlies
Document Summary
Classification is normally done on the basis of temperature and or moisture (precipitation: strong impact on vegetation, soils, hydrology, etc (logical way to assess climate patterns) Wet equatorial belt: influenced by warmer air masses, high humidity values associated with them, maritime situation: equatorial maritime air masses, affected by itcz. Trade wind coasts: latitudes in the tropics, where wind blows onshore in a consistent way it causes humidity/precipitation. Tropical wet-dry (monsoons and savanna: wet and dry season due to trough of the pressure, when far moved from the sights, have high air pressure conditions, clear skies, less precipitation. Tropical deserts: largest deserts in the world are in subtropics, lots of high air pressure in subtropics - descending columns of air. Moist subtropical (humid subtropics: high air pressure called bermuda high. Mid latitude west coast (marine: warm/mild air masses coming in from westerlies and expanding onto mountain areas. Arctic and polar deserts: little precipitation because of high air pressure, cold air masses.
