Atmospheric Circulation
Wind & Pressure
1. The atmosphere is a ____________________of gases
2. Wind is the ____________________ of these gases
3. Named for the direction they come _________________
4. Gases move from areas of _________________pressure to areas of ________________ pressure
5. Low pressure centers are also called C_______________ (_______________clockwise*)
6. High pressure centers are also called _______________________(clockwise*)
7. _____________ Pressure causes air to ______________ &
generally takes water vapor up =
• Clouds and __________________
8. _____________Pressure causes air to sink & generally
keeps moisture _________ of the atmosphere=
• Clear skies & ______________ weather
9. Winds ________________ move from ___________ pressure
areas to ___________ pressure areas!!!!!!!
Convection
10. Air is __________________at the _________________. Warm air ______________.
11. Air is _______________ higher in the __________________. Cold air ________________.
Local Winds
12. Local winds are caused either by ______________________effects (mountains and land)
or variations in ____________________composition (near _________________)
Land and Sea Breezes
13. Coastal Areas
 During the day, land heats up quicker than the
water
 The heated air above the land expands and
rises=LOW pressure
 Colder air over the water is denser= HIGH
pressure
 Pushes into land= ______________ ___________________
14. Coastal Areas
• Land cools faster than water
• The air above the water is warmer = LOW pressure
• Air above the land is cooler= HIGH pressure.
• Making a _________________ _______________________
Mountain and Valley Breezes
15. Valley Breeze: During the ___________, the valley floor heats up and air above it does too.
Warm air __________ up the mountain. Air _____________ as it goes up in elevation & _____________
may form.
16. Mountain Breeze: After sunset the pattern _________________. As slopes cool, nearby air
cools and _______________down the mountain.
Global Winds
17. _____________________ heating and cooling of the atmosphere from continents and
_________________ creates high and low air pressures. Add in the ____________________of the Earth
and global wind patterns emerge.
18. On a hypothetical ________-_______________ planet with a __________________surface of either _______
land or all _________________, two large thermally produced ____________ would form.
19. Air would warm and_____________ at the equator and cool and _____________ at the poles.
Coriolis Effect
20. The Coriolis Effect describes the ____________________
__________________ of an object based on the _________________________
of the _____________ below it.
21. Objects appear to deflect to the ________________ in the northern
hemisphere and to the ____________in the southern hemisphere
22. When the effect of _______________ is added to the global circulation model, the ________-cell
convection system breaks down into ___________smaller cells.
23. These cells lead to the formation of the global ______________ _________________.
Wind Belts
24. _______________ Winds are two belts of winds that blow from __________________ directions at
latitudes from ______ to ________ north and south. They contain ______________ moist, rising air that
result in _________ pressure.
25. _____________________ are the
prevailing winds that blow
____________ to __________ in the middle
latitudes from ________ to ________
north and south.
26. The ____________________ wind is the
wind that blows more often from
one direction than from any other.
In the United States, the
______________________consistently
move weather from west to east
across the continent.
27. Polar __________________ are the
winds that blow from polar _________
to sub-polar ________. From _________
to _________ north and south. They are
_______ and ________ air masses
Windless Belts
28. ____________________ occur where ____________________ trade winds meet at the equator (O
latititude) create _________________ areas.
29. ________________ latitudes __________________ westerlies and trade winds (easterlies) create
_______________ areas at approximately 30o latitude.
Jet Stream
30. Jet streams form at boundaries between ______________________ cells; they are _____________
speed winds that blow in upper ____________________and lower ________________________.
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