Chapter 7 Atmospheric Circulation

When the wind encounters a solid object, a whirl of air forms called “eddies”

Scales of Atmospheric Motion

Scales of Motion – the hierarchy of atmospheric motion or wind circulations ranging from tiny gusts to
giant storms.

Microscale – at the microscopic level, eddies with a diameter of a few meters or less
form and usually short-lived lasting only a few minutes at best. The smallest scale of
atmospheric motion.
Mesoscale – typical mesoscale circulation ranges from a few kilometers to about a
hundred kilometers in diameter.
Macroscale – the largest scale of atmospheric motion.
 Synoptic Scale – also called weather-map scale. Circulation of this
magnitude dominate regions of hundreds to even thousands
kilometers lasting for days and sometimes week.
 Global (Planetary) Scale – circulation or wind patterns over the entire Earth
Types of Eddies
 Turbulence
 Mountain Wave Eddy
 Rotors
Wind Shear – the change of speed or direction of wind.
Clear Air Turbulence(CAT) – the form of turbulence where eddies form in clear air.
Local Wind System
Thermal Circulation – termed for circulation brought on by changes in air temperature in which warmer
air rises and colder air sinks.

 Sea Breezes – breeze blows at the surface from the sea towards the land
 Land Breeze – breeze at the surface that flows from the land toward the water.
 Valley Breeze – happens when the less dense air rises as a gentle upslope wind.
 Mountain Breeze – occurs when a cooler, more dense air glide downslope into the valley.
 Katabatic Winds – these are the downslope winds that are much stronger than
mountain breezes.
 Chinook (Foehn) Winds – is a warm, dry, downslope wind that descends the eastern slope of
the Rocky mountain.
 Santa Ana Winds – A warm, dry wind that blows downhill from the east to northeast into south.
 Desert Winds – winds that develop over the desert.
 Haboobs – forms as cold downdrafts along the leading edge of a thunderstorm lift
dust or sand.
 Dust Devils – these rotating vortices generally form on clear, hot days over a dry surface.
  Seasonally Changing Winds – The Monsoon – derives from the Arabic word “mausim”
which means (“season”)
 Summer Monsoon – mean wet, rainy weather with surface winds that blows from sea
to land.
 Winter Monsoon – means clear skies and generally dry weather, with surface winds
that blows from land to sea.
Global Winds
Single – Cell Model
Three main assumptions:
1. Earth’s surface is uniformly covered with water.
2. The sun is always over the equator.
3. Earth does not
rotate. Three – Cell Model
Main assumptions:
1. Earth’s surface is uniformly covered with water.
2. The sun is always over the equator.
Westerly Winds and Jet Stream – the upper-level winds that tends to concentrate into narrow bands.
Atmosphere – Ocean Interactions
Upwelling – the rising of cold water from below
El Nino – the large, prolonged warming that develops at irregular interval every three to seven years.
La Nina – can be thought as an opposite of El Nino, a warm water and rainy weather develops and
confines mainly to the western tropical Pacific.
Southern Oscillation – the reversing surface air pressure at opposite ends of the Pacific Ocean.