OCEAN 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Westerlies, Horse Latitudes, Atmospheric Circulation
Document Summary
Water vapor is gas, when it condenses in to clouds it transforms in to liquid form. The earth is in a positive feedback loop that continues to warm the earth. The equator has more direct sunlight, thus there is more heat at the equator and the poles have less direct heat. The equator heats up, and it transfers from hot to cold, going from the equator and out toward the poles. Stratosphere contains ozone that absorbs uv light. Thermosphere contains few ions that receive the most solar radiation: the few ions are really hot. Pressure relationships: low pressure (bad weather) Water vapor is rising, expanding, cooling air will condense in to clouds. Atmosphere loses water as precipitation (rain or snow: high pressure (good weather) Causes stagnant air, particles that stay stagnant and can cause health problems: movement of particles from high to low. Circulation cells (convection currents: pressure according to latitude.
