The Ekman Spiral describes how wind blowing over the ocean surface moves the water. Because of the Coriolis effect, the surface water moves at a 45-degree angle to the wind. Each deeper layer of water moves even more slowly and ...
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The Bora is a katabatic wind, which comes from the Greek word for “descending.” It is caused by cold, dense air sitting over high plateaus. Gravity pulls this heavy air down the mountain slopes toward the warmer coast. Because the ...
Rossby waves are massive, slow-moving ripples in the Jet Stream. They are caused by the Earth’s rotation and the presence of large mountain ranges. These waves are responsible for moving cold Arctic air toward the equator and warm tropical air ...
The Horse Latitudes (30° N/S) are regions of high pressure created by sinking air. As air rises at the Equator, it travels poleward and eventually cools, becoming dense enough to sink back to Earth at these latitudes. Sinking air compresses ...
Dry air cools at about 10°C per kilometer (DALR). However, when rising air is saturated, water vapor condenses into liquid droplets. This chemical change releases “latent heat” into the air parcel. This extra heat partially offsets the cooling process, making ...