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Factors Affecting Wind Movement

The document discusses factors that affect wind movement. It explains that wind is caused by uneven heating of the earth's surface by the sun, which creates pressure differences. Three main forces influence wind direction and speed: pressure gradient force, Coriolis force, and frictional force. The Coriolis force, caused by the earth's rotation, causes winds to deflect right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere. It is strongest at higher latitudes and absent at the equator, preventing tropical cyclones from forming directly on the equator. Friction from the earth's surface also influences wind patterns.

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Vikram Das
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101 views

Factors Affecting Wind Movement

The document discusses factors that affect wind movement. It explains that wind is caused by uneven heating of the earth's surface by the sun, which creates pressure differences. Three main forces influence wind direction and speed: pressure gradient force, Coriolis force, and frictional force. The Coriolis force, caused by the earth's rotation, causes winds to deflect right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere. It is strongest at higher latitudes and absent at the equator, preventing tropical cyclones from forming directly on the equator. Friction from the earth's surface also influences wind patterns.

Uploaded by

Vikram Das
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Factors affecting Wind Movement

 Wind == horizontal movement of air


 Currents == vertical movement of air.

 Winds balance uneven distribution of pressure globally.

 Winds help in transfer of heat, moisture etc. from one place to another.

 Sun is the ultimate force that drives winds. Pressure differences force winds
to flow from high pressure are to low pressure area. Pressure differences in
turn are caused by unequal heating of the earth’s surface by solar radiation.

 The wind at the surface experiences friction. In addition, rotation of the


earth also affects the wind movement. The force exerted by the rotation of
the earth is known as the Coriolis force.

 Thus, the horizontal winds near the earth surface respond to the combined
effect of three forces – the pressure gradient force, the frictional force and
the Coriolis force.

 In addition, the gravitational force acts downwards. Centripetal


acceleration produces a circular pattern of flow around centers of high and
low pressure.

Pressure Gradient Force and Wind Movement


 The differences in atmospheric pressure produces pressure gradient force.
 The rate of change of pressure with respect to distance is the pressure
gradient.

 Pressure Gradient Force operates from the high pressure area to a low
pressure area and causes wind movement.

 The pressure gradient is strong where the isobars are close to each other and
is weak where the isobars are apart.

 Since a closely spaced gradient implies a steep pressure change, it also


indicates a strong wind speed.
 The wind direction follows the direction of change of pressure,
i.e. perpendicular to the isobars.

Coriolis Force and Wind Movement


 The rotation of the earth about its axis affects the direction of the wind.
This force is called the Coriolis force. It has great impact on the direction of
wind movement.
 Due to the earth’s rotation, winds do not cross the isobars at right angles
as the pressure gradient force directs, but get deflected from their original
path.

 This deviation is the result of the earth’s rotation and is called the Coriolis
effect or Coriolis force.

 Due to this effect, winds in the northern hemisphere get deflected to


the right of their path and those in the southern hemisphere to their left,
following Farrell’s Law (the law that wind is deflected to the right in the
Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, derived
from the application of the Coriolis effect to air masses).

 This deflection force does not seem to exist until the air is set in motion
and increases with wind velocity, air massand an increase in latitude.

 The Coriolis force acts perpendicular to the pressure gradient force


(pressure gradient force is perpendicular to an isobar)

 As a result of these two forces operating perpendicular to each other, in


the low-pressure areas the wind blows around it (cyclonic conditions).
Why are there no tropical cyclones at the equator?
 The Coriolis force is directly proportional to the angle of latitude. It
is maximum at the poles and is absent at the equator.
 At the equator (Coriolis force is zero) wind blows perpendicular to the
isobars. The low pressure gets filled instead of getting intensified i.e., there is
no spiraling of air due to zero Coriolis effect. The winds directly gets uplifted
vertically to form thunderstorms.
Frictional Force and Wind Movement
 The irregularities of the earth’s surface offer resistance to the wind
movement in the form of friction.
 It affects the speed of the wind. It is greatest at the surface and its
influence generally extends up to an elevation of 1 – 3 km. Over the sea
surface the friction is minimal.

 Over uneven terrain, however, due to high friction, the wind direction
makes high angles with, isobars and the speed gets retarded.

Centripetal Acceleration
 It acts only on air that is flowing around centers of circulation.
 Centripetal acceleration creates a force directed at right angles to the wind
movement and inwards towards the centers of rotation (e.g., low and high
pressure centers).

 This force produces a circular pattern of flow around centers of high and
low pressure.

 Centripetal acceleration is more important for circulations smaller than the


mid-latitude cyclone.

Pressure and Wind: Geostrophic Wind


 The velocity and direction of the wind are the net result of the wind
generating forces.
 The winds in the upper atmosphere, 2 – 3 km above the surface, are free
from frictional effect of the surface and are controlled by the pressure
gradient and the Coriolis force.

 When isobars are straight and when there is no friction, the pressure
gradient force is balanced by the Coriolis force and the resultant wind blows
parallel to the isobar. This wind is known as the geostrophic wind.

 The wind movement around a low is called cyclonic circulation. Around a


high it is called anti cyclonic circulation. The direction of winds around such
systems changes according to their location in different hemispheres.

 The wind movement or wind circulation at the earth’s surface around low
and high on many occasions is closely related to the wind circulation at
higher level. Generally, over low pressure area the air will converge and rise.
Over high pressure area the air will subside from above and diverge at the
surface.
 Apart from convergence, some eddies, convection currents, orographic
uplift and uplift along fronts cause the rising of air, which is essential for the
formation of clouds and precipitation. (more about this later)

More about Coriolis effect


 The Coriolis effect is the apparent deflection of objects (such as
airplanes, wind, missiles, sniper gun bullets and ocean currents) moving in a
straight path relative to the earth’s surface.
 The “apparent” portion of the Coriolis effect’s definition is also important
to take into consideration.

 This means that from the object in the air (i.e. an airplane) the earth can be
seen rotating slowly below it. From the earth’s surface that same object
appears to curve off of its course. The object is not actually moving off of its
course but this just appears to be happening because the earth’s surface is
rotating beneath the object.

Gif Image: View Image in a New Window or In Power Point [Full Screen
Mode]
Causes of the Coriolis Effect
 The main cause of the Coriolis effect is the earth’s rotation. As the earth
spins in a counter-clockwise direction on its axis anything flying or flowing
over a long distance above its surface appears to be deflected.
 This occurs because as something moves freely above the earth’s surface,
the earth is moving east under the object at a faster speed.

 As latitude increases and the speed of the earth’s rotation decreases,


Coriolis effect increases.

 A plane flying along the equator itself would be able to continue flying on
the equator without any apparent deflection. A little to the north or south of
the equator, the plane would be deflected.

 In addition to the speed of the earth’s rotation and latitude, the faster the
object itself is moving, the more deflection there will be.

Impacts of the Coriolis Effect


 Some of the most important impacts of the Coriolis effect in terms of
geography are the deflection of winds and currents in the ocean. It also has a
significant effect on man-made items like planes and missiles.

Myth about Coriolis Effect


 One of the biggest misconceptions associated with the Coriolis effect is
that it causes the rotation of water down the drain of a sink or toilet. This is
not truly the cause of the water’s movement. The water itself is simply
moving too fast down the drain to allow for the Coriolis effect to have any
significant impact.

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