ENVIRSC 1A03 Chapter 13: UNIT 13 MAJOR WIND SYSTEMS
25 Sep 2016
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Wind direction and speed is influenced by the coriolis effect a deflection of moving objects when the motion is described relative to a rotating reference frame; the apparent force caused by the earth"s rotation. It is important only for broad scale winds which travel more than 100 km and four more in a day. The above diagram illustrates how the coriolis affect works. Platform b is rotating while the ball is in flight, thus to anyone on platform the ball would appear to be deflecting to the right of its intended path. The force is therefore, characterized in several ways. In the northern hemisphere the coriolis force pulls to the right (deflection) In the southern hemisphere the coriolis force pulls to the left (deflection) The apparent deflection of all moving objects is due to the rotation of the earth, objects include air and water. If earth was not rotating then an object would reach its destination without any deflection.
