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Fill in the Blanks: Global Weather Patterns

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Fill in the Blanks: Global Weather Patterns

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Weather patterns and ocean currents

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heh
heh
United States

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Fill in the Blanks: Global Weather Patterns
 

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Fill in the Blanks: Global Weather PatternsOnline version

Weather patterns and ocean currents

by heh
1

Global Weather Patterns
The movement of air and ocean currents across the Earth's surface create global weather patterns . The weather of a particular area depends on the movement of the atmosphere . This movement can determine an area's temperature , air pressure , and precipitation .

Solar Energy and Convection
The Sun heats the Earth unevenly . Only one half of the Earth receives sunlight at a time . Also , the parts of the Earth where the Sun is directly overhead receive more Solar energy . The tropics and the equator receive more energy than the poles . This is why the poles are much colder than the tropics . Differences in the temperatures of air and water cause convection .

Convection is the mixing motion of liquids or gases that are different temperatures . Convection happens because warm liquids or gases rise , while cool liquids and gases sink . Convection in the atmosphere causes wind , while convection in the ocean causes currents .

A convection current will continually circulate gases or liquids past the source of heat , helping to even out the overall temperature .

Convection in the Atmosphere
When sunlight strikes land or water , much of the energy in the light is changed to heat . This causes the air above the Earth's surface to heat up . The hot air rises , cools , and comes back down , forming air currents , as shown in the image .

At the same time , the rotation of the Earth causes air masses to " swirl " clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and counter - clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere . This creates that blow from the east near the equator . It also causes prevailing that blow across the United States . The prevailing westerlies cause weather patterns in the United States to generally move from west to east .

Global Air Currents


Between the easterlies and westerlies , high in the atmosphere , air currents called jet streams are located . A jet stream is a quick - moving ribbon of air . Jet streams constantly change position . Air masses and weather systems in the path of the jet streams are moved by the quick - moving air .



The Northern and Southern Hemispheres each have two main jet streams ? a polar jet stream and a subtropical jet stream . In the Northern Hemisphere , the polar jet stream brings cold weather from the north , and the subtropical jet stream brings warm weather from the south . In the winter , jet streams are closer to the equator . In the summer , they are farther from the equator . The seasonal north and south movements of the jet streams' positions are said to follow the Sun , because the Sun's highest position in the sky moves north and south at the same times .

Currents : Convection in the Ocean
Currents at the surface of the ocean are affected by wind . In general , currents flowing toward the equator bring cooler waters to some regions , while currents flowing away from the equator bring warmer waters to other regions . These currents carry water in large loops , called gyres . The five major gyres in the ocean are shown in the image below .

The five major ocean gyres on Earth are caused by the Sun's heat , global wind patterns , and the rotation of the Earth . Red arrows show warm currents . Blue arrows show cool currents .

The movement of ocean currents can have a cooling effect or a warming effect on the regions near those currents . For example , the California current helps the west coast of the United States stay cooler during the summer . The Gulf Stream , however , carries warm water to the North Atlantic , resulting in warmer winters in the British Isles .

Oceans can have a major effect on climate in another way also . Water absorbs solar energy without changing temperature much . This means that ocean temperature remains within a small range throughout the year , even when the amount of solar energy received is changing . This explains why the climate in coastal areas changes less with the seasons than areas that are far away from the coast .

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El Niño and La Niña refer to short - term changes from normal wind and ocean current patterns in the tropical Pacific Ocean . These changes interrupt normal global weather patterns .

In normal conditions , the blow from east to west across the tropical Pacific Ocean . This builds up warmer water in the western Pacific and allows colder water to rise in the eastern Pacific . In certain periods of time , two distinct , short - term changes in this pattern occur . These changes are called El Niño and La Niña .

In El Niño conditions , such as the conditions shown at the bottom of the image above , trade winds do not blow as heavily as normal in the western and central Pacific Ocean . This prevents colder water from rising as it normally does in the eastern Pacific , and results in warmer ocean currents than normal . El Niño usually occurs every 3 to 7 years .

El Niño interrupts normal global patterns . For example , El Niño usually causes droughts in the western Pacific and heavier rains in the eastern Pacific . The southern Rocky Mountains and the southeastern United States will both have increased precipitation in the winter of an El Niño year . The upper Midwest and Northeast U . S . will usually have a warmer than average winter , but the Gulf Coast will tend to be cooler than normal during the winter months .

In La Niña conditions , the trade winds blow more heavily than normal , causing more cold water to rise and spread westward across the Pacific . Air and surface water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean near the equator are colder than normal , and global climate patterns are opposite those of El Niño conditions .

 
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