The Uneven Heating of the Earth’s Surface and
Creation of Local Global Wind Patterns
Writing prompt: Understanding global and local winds (Approx. 500 words)
Prompt:
Explain how the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface is responsible for the creation of local and global wind patterns.
What I am looking for in your responses is how you connect these topics within your essay to demonstrate your understanding of the larger concept
addressed in the prompt.
(Use as many sources as you need, the prof. didnt give any info on this)
Please do not just give me a list of definitions.
Topics to be addressed in your essay
1. Global pressure systems
2. Global wind belts
3. Methods of energy transfer
4. The Coriolis Effect
5. Land and sea breezes
6. Angle of insolation
The Uneven Heating of the Earth’s Surface and
Creation of Local and Global Wind Patterns
The uneven heating of the surface of the earth creates large global wind systems. The global winds contribute to driving the current of the ocean surface (Climate Science Investigation, 2016). Wind constitutes the movement of air from the regions of high pressure to areas of low pressure. The air pressure is dependent on factors such as the elevation or the altitude, the temperature as well as the composition of air. Therefore the paper outlines how uneven heating contributes to the creation of the local and global wind patterns by considering the pressure systems, wind belts, energy transfer, Coriolis Effect, land, and sea breezes, including the angle of isolation.
The movement of air or wind is from the high pressure to low pressure areas. The rotation of the earth causes the air to move in both clockwise counterclockwise, depending on whether it is in the southern hemisphere or northern hemisphere. The rotation of the earth results in friction, which is called Coriolis force or effect (Reynolds, 2017). The Coriolis Effect contributes to breaking the air circulation between the equator and the poles. The Coriolis force is approximately zero at the equator; therefore, the effect is felt more at the longitudinal motion than a latitudinal motion. An example is the hurricanes that demonstrate the effect of Coriolis force.
The rotation of the earth and the unequal heating from the sun generate the wind belts, also commonly known as the global wind belts (Climate Science Investigation, 2016). The common wind belts caused by the heating of the earth are polar easterlies, the tropical easterlies as well as the prevailing easterlies. Therefore, the cold and dense air causes high global pressures, while the warm and less dense air results in low pressure. The patterns of the wind occur at the equator and at both the northern and southern hemispheres.
The areas around the equator constitute trade winds that cover both the east and the west area. The wind in this area is called light winds, also known as the doldrums. The areas around the equator receive intense sun radiation through the mode of heat transfer called radiation. Along the equator, the warmer and moist air rises, this results in low pressures that cover several kilometres towards the north and south of the equator (Climate Science Investigation, 2016). Therefore regions along the equator have a large angle of insolation and therefore results in indirect heating as compared to the areas near the north and southern hemisphere. The unequal heating of the earth’s surface causes the differences in pressure and temperature (Petersen, Gabler & Sack, 2015). The movement of the winds is attributed to both the land breeze and sea breeze. During summer seasons or during the day, the high pressure over oceans and low pressure over the land brings warm and moist air on the land. Similarly, during winter or at night, the high pressure over the land as well as the low pressure over the ocean results in the wind moving from the land to water.
In conclusion, factors such as the pressure systems, the wind belts, and the Coriolis Effect contribute significantly to the formation of both the local and global winds. The angle of insolation determines the intensity at which the sun hits the air. The modes of heat transfer determine the movement of heat due to changes in factors such as temperature and pressure.
References
Climate Science Investigation. (2016). Global Wind Patterns. Retrieved from http://www.ces.fau.edu/nasa/content/resources/global-wind-patterns.php
Petersen, J. F., Gabler, R. E., & Sack, D. (2015). Fundamentals of physical geography. Stamford: Cengage Learning.
Reynolds, S. J. (2017). Exploring physical geography. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
