Scribd
Upload
13 views

Wind

The document discusses the key forces that affect wind patterns: 1) Pressure gradient is the primary force that causes wind to flow from high to low pressure areas. Differences in pressure gradients determine wind speed and direction. 2) The Coriolis effect causes winds in the Northern Hemisphere to deflect to the right and in the Southern Hemisphere to deflect to the left. This changes wind direction but not speed. 3) Frictional forces from surface features slow wind speed and can alter wind direction by causing wind to flow at angles across pressure gradients.

Uploaded by

Jeoff Aldwien
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
13 views

Wind

The document discusses the key forces that affect wind patterns: 1) Pressure gradient is the primary force that causes wind to flow from high to low pressure areas. Differences in pressure gradients determine wind speed and direction. 2) The Coriolis effect causes winds in the Northern Hemisphere to deflect to the right and in the Southern Hemisphere to deflect to the left. This changes wind direction but not speed. 3) Frictional forces from surface features slow wind speed and can alter wind direction by causing wind to flow at angles across pressure gradients.

Uploaded by

Jeoff Aldwien
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Paper code: GGY HC – 2026

Part- I
Group- A: Climatology

Topic: Forces Affecting Winds


Wind has been defined as the horizontal movement of air that is caused by differences in
pressure. Since pressure differences are mainly caused by unequal heating of the earth’s surface,
solar radiation may be called the ultimate driving force of the wind. If the earth were stationary
and had a uniform surface, air would flow directly from high-pressure areas to low-pressure
areas. Because none of these conditions exist, the direction and speed of wind are controlled by
several factors. These are pressure gradient, the Coriolis effect, frictional forces, and centrifugal
action of wind.

a) Pressure gradient: The force that causes wind movement results from horizontal
pressure differences. It is the direction and magnitude of the pressure gradient which
ultimately determines wind direction and its velocity. This is the force generated due
to the differences in horizontal pressure, and it operates from the high-pressure area to
a low-pressure area. Since a closely spaced gradient implies a steep pressure change,
it also indicates strong wind speed. The wind direction follows the direction of
change of pressure, i.e. perpendicular to the isobars.

Fig: Flow of air produced by the pressure gradient force


b) The Coriolis force: Due to the earth’s rotation, winds do not cross the isobars at right
angles as the pressure gradient force directs, but get deflected from their original path.
This deviation is the result of the earth’s rotation and is called the Coriolis Effect or
Coriolis force. Due to this effect, winds in the northern hemisphere get deflected to
the right of their path and those in the southern hemisphere to their left, following
Farrel’s Law. The Coriolis force changes wind direction but not its speed. This
deflection force does not seem to exist until the air is set in motion and increases with
wind velocity, air mass, and an increase in latitude. It should be pointed out that the
Coriolis force is zero at the equator and maximum at the poles.

c) Frictional forces: At or near the earth’s surface, friction is an important factor


affecting wind. But its effect is confined to only a few thousand meters from the
surface. Frictional forces act not only to slow down the wind movement but also to
change the wind direction. The irregularities of the earth’s surface offer resistance to
the wind motion in the form of friction. This force determines the angle at which air
will flow across the isobars, as well as the speed at which it will move. It may also
alter wind direction. Over the relatively smooth ocean surface, the friction is
minimum, so the air moves at low angles to the isobars and at a greater speed. Over
uneven terrain, however, due to high friction, the wind direction makes high angles
with, isobars and the speed gets retarded.

Fig.: A

Fig.: B
d) Centrifugal action of wind: The centrifugal force is an apparent force that includes
the effects of inertia for winds moving along a curved path. The directionality of
the centrifugal force points outward from the center of the curve. It should be noted
that centrifugal force is hardly a force in the true sense of the term. It results from a
state of imbalance existing between other forces when isobars are curved. In fact, this
imbalance is necessary to provide the change in the direction needed for curved flow.
The Coriolis force is a factor which operates forcefully only when there is a high
velocity wind with a small radius of curvature as in small-sized violent tropical
storms. It acts in a direction radially outward from the center of curvature of the
wind’s path.

Fig.: Centrifugal force

*****

You might also like