Air Pressure and Winds

Chapter 8

Chapter 8
I. Atmospheric Pressure II. Surface and Upper Level Charts III. Newtons Laws of Motion IV. Forces the Influence the Wind V. Winds and Vertical Motion

Why Does the Wind Blow?

A. What is wind? B. Wind is horizontal movement of air C. Why does air move? D. Air moves in response to a horizontal gradient in air pressure, attempting to equalize imbalances in pressure E. The wind direction is the direction from which the wind is blowing

http://www.eo.ucar.edu/basics/wx_2_c.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k0iYDjqJEs&feature=related

I. Atmospheric Pressure
A. Pressure is the force exerted on objects by the weight of tiny molecules of air B. How heavy is the pressure?
- 1 ton per square ft

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVayky_b-6U

Measuring Air Pressure

The instruments that measure air pressure are called barometers

Mercury Barometer

Aneroid Barometer

Recording Barograph

Rainfall and Temperature Measurements Grants Farm July 30-31, 2013

July 30

July 31

Pressure Measurements Grants Farm One week in August, 2013

July 30

July 31

Pressure Measurements for Entire Month Grants Farm August, 2013

August 1 July 30 July 31

August 31

Pressure and Temperature Measurements for Entire Month Grants Farm August, 2013
Pressure dominated by synoptic patterns

August 1

August 31

Temperatures dominated by daily cycles

Pressure and Temperature Measurements for Entire Month Grants Farm August, 2013
Pressure dominated by synoptic patterns

August 1

August 31

Measurements of Air Pressure

Measurements in cm of Hg

Sea level standard

= 76 cm of Hg

High altitude low pressure

Bad weather low pressure

Surface and Sea Level Pressure

A. Why cant we compare station pressures? B. Pressure decreases with elevation by about 10 mb/100 m
C. We extrapolate pressure from altitude to sea level a common level

Sea Level Pressure

Sample of sea level pressure map or chart The contours are isobars The numbers at stations are sea level pressure in millibars (mb).

Pressure and Temperature

A. Pressure relates to density; density relates temperature B. Colder air molecules move more slowly and are closer together (more dense column contracts) C. Warmer air molecules move faster and are further apart (less dense column expands)

Pressure Differences and Wind

http://apollo.lsc.vsc.edu/~wintelsw/MET1010LOL/chapter05/

II. Surface and Upper Level Charts

A. Sea level pressure chart is a constant height chart B. Upper level charts are constant pressure charts

Temperature and Height

Ridges and Troughs

Aviation and Height

Heights on a Weather Map

Elevation and Height

Summary: Pressure
A. Pressure is the weight of air above a given level B. It decreases with height rapidly; the higher elevation; the lower pressure C. Pressure is used to represent a vertical coordinate, instead of altitude
- 850mb, 700mb, 500mb, 300mb, as altitude.

D. Pressure at different altitudes is converted to common sea level E. Warmer (lighter) air above results in lower surface pressure; and vice versa F. Higher pressure typically is associated with fair weather; the opposite is true with low pressure

III. Newtons Laws of Motion

A. 1st Law objects in motion remain in motion B. 2nd Law the force exerted on an object equals its mass times the acceleration produced C. To determine wind direction we must consider all the forces acting on it:
1. 2. 3. 4. Pressure Gradient Force Coriolis Force Centripetal Force Friction

IV. Forces that Influence Wind

A. Pressure gradient the amount of pressure change that occurs over a given distance
Example: PG = 4 mb / 100 km

p PG d

B. If isobars are closer together steep (strong) pressure gradient C. If isobars are further apart weak pressure gradient
D. Pressure gradient force (PGF) is the force due to pressure difference, pointing from higher to lower pressure - Magnitude of force proportional to pressure gradient

Pressure and Air Movement

Pressure gradient force moves air from high to low pressure areas

http://admin.wadsworth.com/resour ce_uploads/static_resources/05343 97719/1406/Ahrens92SeaBreeze.swf

Differential heating or cooling a column establishes horizontal pressure gradients that cause air movement, I.e., winds

More than just Pressure Gradient

PGF should cause winds to blow directly into the low center

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/fw/pgf.rxml

Why do winds blow almost parallel to isobars? There must be other forces that act on the air

Coriolis Force
A. Watching outside the disk ball goes in straight line, B. But to an observer on the spinning disc, the ball appears to veer to the right C. The faster the ball moves, the larger the deflection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Corioliskraftanimation.gif

Coriolis Force
A. Because the Earth is rotating, air motions will appear to turn or deflect, similar to merry-goround B. This deflection is an apparent force meaning it would not exist if it were not for the rotation of the Earth C. This apparent force is called the Coriolis force (CF)

http://apollo.lsc.vsc.edu/classes/met130/notes/chapter8/cf_intro2.html

Coriolis Force

A. As an air parcel intends to move from south to north along a meridian, it actually moves towards northeast B. Similarly, a south-moving parcel would be deflected towards southwest C. In both cases, the parcel is deflected toward right in the Northern Hemisphere

Factors Impacting Deflection

A. The amount of Coriolis deflection depends on:
1. The rotation of earth 2. The latitude 3. The objects speed

Summary: Forces
A. Two main forces act on air aloft where the surface friction is negligible B. Pressure gradient force (PGF) as an actual force; Coriolis force (CF) is caused by earth rotation and air movement C. PGF is proportional to gradient; steep gradient produces stronger force D. CF depend are wind speed and direction
1. Direction: always perpendicular to wind deflection to the right in the northern hemisphere 2. Magnitude: increases with wind speed; If air is still, CF deflection is zero

E. Near ground surface, friction slows down air movement and deflects toward low pressure

Straight Line Flow Geostrophic Wind

A. Air aloft is away from the influence of friction due to surface objects B. As soon as the PGF initiates movement, the CF deflects the parcel to the right C. As wind speed increases, so does CF D. Eventually CF balances PGF: parcel no longer accelerates then it moves at constant speed Air flowing parallel to straight isobars is known as the geostrophic wind

How to Tell Wind Direction

A. By knowing the isobar pattern, we can determine the direction and speed of the geostrophic wind using Buys-Ballot Law
PGF

PGF CF CF
Friction

Geostrophic Winds
A. Speed of geostrophic wind is directly related to the pressure gradient; greater gradient results in stronger winds, similar to water flow in a stream

Curved Flow Gradient Wind

A. Real isobaric contours are seldom straight, and winds rarely brow straight trajectories B. Thus, we study circular wind pattern gradient wind

Gradient Winds
A. Unlike geostrophic winds blowing parallel to straight lines, gradient winds blow along curved isobars
1. For cyclonic flow, PGF>CF 2. For anticyclonic flow, PGF<CF

Surface Friction
A. Both geostrophic and gradient winds ignore friction B. The surface friction decreases the wind speed and increases the angle between the wind and isobars C. Decreasing wind speed also reduces CF; CF is smaller than PGF. The wind would blow toward low pressure side D. Because of friction, winds seldom blow along straight lines or perfect circles E. They are only good approximation to real winds aloft away from ground surface

Real Wind Patterns

A. Winds flow in northern hemisphere
1. counterclockwise and inward into a low (L) 2. clockwise and outward from a high (H)

Real Wind Patterns

Low (L) low center High: H high center Trough elongated low Ridge elongated high
Isobar Isotherm Isoheight Wind barbs 1 knot=1.15 mi/hr

Ridge

Trough

V. Winds and Vertical Motions

A. As air converges to a low-pressure center, it must go somewhere up! B. The air aloft diverges to compensate for the converging air; opposite is true for a highpressure center at the surface

Convergence(Confluence) vs. Divergence(Difluence)

Note: confluence is not the same as convergence! Confluence refers to air flowing towards an axis parallel to the airflow; convergence is the net inflow of air into a given area.

Looks more like a confluent process to me!

Confluence

Difluence

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/elements/whatgoesup3.htm

http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/085/mwr-085-01-0028.pdf

http://www.pragmatek.com/images/convergence.gif

Hydrostatic Equilibrium
A. The upward directed PGF is balanced by the downward force of gravity B. The atmosphere is normally in hydrostatic balance except within violent storms

Winds and Vertical Motions

A. Recall that the vertical motion is very important for weather
1. Rising air cools down and expands to form clouds and precipitation and that air must continue to rise to maintain this precipitation 2. The stronger the vertical motion the more intense the precipitation (as a general rule)

B. The vertical motion is supported by pressure gradients that in turn are related to temperature distribution C. Next chapter will study air masses and fronts which characterize horizontal temperature patterns

Summary: Wind Patterns

A. Two main wind patterns are discussed: geostrophic wind and gradient wind B. Geostrophic wind results when pressure gradient force (PGF) and and Coriolis force (CF) balance
1. It blows along straight isobars; its direction is such that when you stand with your back against wind, the high pressure in on your right in northern hemisphere.

C. Gradient wind describes circular flow when PGF is larger or smaller than CF D. The surface friction, another force, causes flow to cross isobars towards the lower pressure side
1. Convergence generated by cross-isobars flow generates upward motion and thus weather
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k0iYDjqJEs&feature=related