oceanography
1. Explain why atmospheric pressure always decreases with increasing altitude.
Because the higher you get the more room there is between molecules, which means less weight from above. Basically the air gets thinner the higher you get, so there is less pressure.
2. Why is the decrease of air pressure with increasing altitude more rapid when the air is cold?
Cold air is associated with low pressure. So the inherently low-pressure air loses pressure more rapidly as the altitude increases. Air pressure drops more rapidly with altitude in a column of cold air.
3. On an upper-level map, is cold air aloft generally associated with low or high pressure? What about warm air aloft?
Cold air aloft is associated with a surface low-pressure system. The reverse is true for warm air aloft.
4. What does a steep (or strong) pressure gradient mean? How would it appear on a surface map?
When there is a difference in pressure between two different points that results in a pressure gradient and pressure gradient force. Lines connect point to pressure and are perpendicular to isobars.
5. What is the name of the force that initially sets the air in motion and, hence, causes the wind to blow?
The name of the force that causes wind to blow is a Pressure Gradient Force.
6. What does the Coriolis force do to moving air
a. In the Northern Hemisphere?
Objects move to the right because you’re rotating in the Northern Hemisphere.
b. In the Southern Hemisphere?
Objects move East to West in the Southern Hemisphere.
7. Explain how each of the following influences the Coriolis force:
a. Wind speed
As the wind increases, the CF increases which gives its stronger wind and greater deflection.
b. Latitude
Higher latitude, more effect from the CF which means larger deviation, however opposite for the lower latitudes.
8. Why do upper-level winds in the middle latitudes of both hemispheres generally blow from west to east?
They are influenced by the earth’s rotation. It
Because the higher you get the more room there is between molecules, which means less weight from above. Basically the air gets thinner the higher you get, so there is less pressure.
2. Why is the decrease of air pressure with increasing altitude more rapid when the air is cold?
Cold air is associated with low pressure. So the inherently low-pressure air loses pressure more rapidly as the altitude increases. Air pressure drops more rapidly with altitude in a column of cold air.
3. On an upper-level map, is cold air aloft generally associated with low or high pressure? What about warm air aloft?
Cold air aloft is associated with a surface low-pressure system. The reverse is true for warm air aloft.
4. What does a steep (or strong) pressure gradient mean? How would it appear on a surface map?
When there is a difference in pressure between two different points that results in a pressure gradient and pressure gradient force. Lines connect point to pressure and are perpendicular to isobars.
5. What is the name of the force that initially sets the air in motion and, hence, causes the wind to blow?
The name of the force that causes wind to blow is a Pressure Gradient Force.
6. What does the Coriolis force do to moving air
a. In the Northern Hemisphere?
Objects move to the right because you’re rotating in the Northern Hemisphere.
b. In the Southern Hemisphere?
Objects move East to West in the Southern Hemisphere.
7. Explain how each of the following influences the Coriolis force:
a. Wind speed
As the wind increases, the CF increases which gives its stronger wind and greater deflection.
b. Latitude
Higher latitude, more effect from the CF which means larger deviation, however opposite for the lower latitudes.
8. Why do upper-level winds in the middle latitudes of both hemispheres generally blow from west to east?
They are influenced by the earth’s rotation. It