What does atmospheric circulation mean?
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Asked by: Tony Anot
What is the meaning of atmospheric circulation?
Atmospheric circulation transports heat over the surface of the Earth that affects the water cycle, including the formation of clouds and precipitation events. The movement of air masses brings us our daily weather, and long-term patterns in circulation determine regional climate and ecosystems.
What is an example of atmospheric circulation?
Atmospheric circulation is linked to ocean temperature and winds. An example of this relationship are two naturally occurring variations in the temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean known as El Niño and La Niña.
What is climate and atmospheric circulation?
Atmospheric circulation is an essential part of Earth’s climate system because it redistributes heat around the planet. These large-scale wind circulations move in response to differences in temperature at the equator, the warmest region of the planet, and the poles, which are the coldest regions.
What is another term for atmospheric circulation?
This atmospheric motion is known as zonal overturning circulation.
What is the causes of atmospheric circulation?
Even with disruptions like weather fronts and storms, there is a consistent pattern to how air moves around our planet’s atmosphere. This pattern, called atmospheric circulation, is caused because the Sun heats the Earth more at the equator than at the poles. It’s also affected by the spin of the Earth.
What are the two main causes of atmospheric circulation?
The two major causes of global wind circulation are inequalities in radiation distribution over the Earth’s surface and the Earth’s rotation. Global radiation distribution drives global circulation, whereas the Earth’s rotation determines its shape.
How does global atmospheric circulation affect weather?
Global atmospheric circulation creates winds across the planet and leads to areas of high rainfall, like the tropical rainforests, and areas of dry air, like deserts.
What does upper atmospheric circulation mean?
As the air from the tropics reaches the convergence zone it begins to rise because of heating. It reaches an altitude of 14 km and then starts to move towards the poles thus creating the upper air circulation or upper atmospheric circulation.
How does climate change affect atmospheric circulation?
How does climate change impact the atmospheric circulation? Alterations of the radiative balance of the Earth due to climate change modify regional temperature and humidity structures. The winds respond to the resulting gradients and change the intensity and structure of the circulation.
