BIO 373 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Cool Air, Downwelling, Rain Shadow
Document Summary
Lecture 2: weather vs climate, weather: temporary, defined by winds, temp, rain. Warm air less dense, causes expansion of air molecules = air rises (uplift). Decreases the atmospheric pressure (force exerted by air molecules on air and surface below it) with increasing latitude allowing for the rising pocket of warm air to expand, while cooling the rising air as well. Develops three cells of global circulation instead of one due to the formation of jet streams in the upper atmosphere. These three est tropical zone (30 n and s), temperate zones (30 and 60 n and s), and polar zones (60 n and s). Hadley cell: (described above), tropical uplift of air that est. pattern of atm circulation. Uplift (up), jetstreams caused by coriolis effect collide with other air particles and cause deflections (to the right), air descending because matches the pressure at 30. N or s (down), pressure gradient (closes the loop).
