Atmospheric Circulation

Contents

• scales of motion and turbulence

• local winds
• the General Circulation of the atmosphere
• ocean currents
 Wind Examples

Fig. 7.1: Scales of atmospheric motion.

Microscale  mesoscale  synoptic scale.
 Scales of Motion
• Microscale
– e.g. chimney
– Short lived ‘eddies’, chaotic motion
– Timescale: minutes
• Mesoscale
– e.g. local winds, thunderstorms
– Timescale mins/hr/days
• Synoptic scale
– e.g. weather maps
– Timescale: days to weeks
• Planetary scale
– Entire earth
 Scales of Motion

Table 7.1: Scales of atmospheric motion

 Turbulence
• Eddies: internal friction generated as
laminar (smooth, steady) flow becomes
irregular and turbulent
• Most weather disturbances
involve turbulence

• 3 kinds:
– Mechanical turbulence – you,
buildings, etc.
– Thermal turbulence – due to warm
air rising and cold air sinking caused
by surface heating
– Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) - due to
wind shear, i.e. change in wind speed
and/or direction
 Mechanical Turbulence

• Mechanical turbulence – due to flow over or around

objects (mountains, buildings, etc.)
 Mechanical Turbulence: Wave Clouds
• Flow over a mountain, generating:
– Wave clouds
– Rotors, bad for planes and gliders!

Fig. 7.2: Mechanical turbulence - Air flowing past a mountain range

creates eddies hazardous to flying.
 Thermal Turbulence
• Thermal turbulence - essentially rising thermals of air
generated by surface heating
• Thermal turbulence is maximum during max surface
heating - mid afternoon
 Questions

1. A pilot enters the weather service office and wants to know

what time of the day she can expect to encounter the least
turbulent winds at 760 m above central Kansas. If you
were the weather forecaster, what would you tell her?

2. Why is the difference in surface wind speed between

morning and afternoon typically greater on a clear, sunny
day than on a cloudy, overcast day?
 Turbulence Aloft (Wind Shear)

Formation of clear air turbulence (CAT), responsible for ‘air pockets’

Wind shear occurs at all altitudes and it can be horizontal or vertical

At high altitudes, shear is encountered at the jet stream with the

wind increasing from less than 50 mph to 150 mph over a few miles.
 Local Winds
• Many mesoscale phenomena are the result of a
thermal circulation:
• Thermal circulation - a circulation generated by
pressure gradients produced by differential heating
• Thermal circulations tend to be shallow - do not extend
up through the depth of the troposphere

– Sea and Land Breezes

Thermal circulation
– Monsoon
– Mountain + Valley
– Katabatic Winds Downslope winds
– Chinook
– Santa Ana
– Desert Winds
All mesoscale phenomena
 Thermal Circulations

No horizontal P or T variation

Cool the N and warm the S

Complete the circulation

Fig. 7.3: Thermal circulation produced by heating and cooling of the ground.
 Thermal Circulations: Sea and Land
Breezes
• Consider the land/sea interface in the morning
• Assume that the ocean and land surfaces have the
same temperature
• Also assume that synoptic-scale phenomena are
absent
• As solar heating increases during the morning, which
surface heats quicker and why?
Thermal Circulations: Sea and Land Breezes
• Uneven heating of land and water

• Diurnal wind coming from sea (‘sea breeze’) during daytime and from
land (‘land breeze’) at night

• Why is the land breeze weaker than the sea breeze?

Fig. 7.4: Development of a sea breeze and a land breeze

 The Sea-breeze Front
• The boundary between the
cool, stable sea-breeze flow
and the hot, unstable winds
over land
• Passage is noted by:
– change of wind speed/direction
– rapid temperature decrease
– moisture increase
– change in air quality
• Max temperature occurs
much earlier than inland
cities
• Clouds often form along the
front
 Sea-breeze

• Convergence in Fl
produces large
summertime rainfall

Fig. 7.5: Surface heating and lifting air along a sea breeze form
thunderstorms almost daily during summer in S. Florida.
Convergence of a sea breeze from Atlantic and Gulf sides. Lack of
convergence in 98’ caused fires.
 Questions

1. Explain why cities near large bodies of cold water in

summer experience well-developed sea breezes, but
only poorly-developed land breezes.

2. The prevailing winds in southern Florida are northeasterly.

Knowing this, would you expect the strongest sea
breezes to be along the east or west coast of southern
Florida? What about the strongest land breezes.
 Monsoon
• Like sea/land breeze but seasonal

Winter: Land cool - Summer: Land warm - Wet

Dry season season (425” of rain/yr at
*)
+uplift by Himalayas
Fig. 7.6: Changing annual wind patterns associated with winter and summer Asian monsoon
(linked to El Niño) Many people depend on it for drinking water/irrigation.
 Downslope Winds

• Mountain breezes belong to a group of winds more

generally as Katabatic winds.

• These are winds driven by cold air flowing down a

slope
 Mountain Breezes
• Day: sunlight warms valley walls – valley breeze
• Night: valley walls cool – mountain breeze

Fig. 7.7: Valley breeze: uphill during day

Mountain breeze: downhill at night
 If campfire smoke is blowing uphill along the east-
facing side of the hill and downhill along the
west- facing side of the same hill, are the fires
cooking breakfast or dinner?
Question
From the drift of the smoke, how were you able to
tell?
 Katabatic Wind
• Katabatic or ‘fall’ winds (cold air)
– Down slope wind (stronger than a mountain breeze)
– Usually a plateau surrounded by mountains with
opening sloping downhill
– e.g. the bora (Adriatic coast), mistral (Rhone valley),
coho
(Columbia Gorge wind), Santa Ana (CA)

• Optimal conditions:
– Snow covered plateau cools
– Generates large PGF
• Causes frost
damage to
vineyards
• Winds can exceed
100 knots
 Question

Where on Earth would we find the

strongest Katabatic winds? Why?
 Chinook
• Chinook: warm, dry wind flowing from east side of
Rockies.
• Indian word meaning ‘snow eater’.
• Similar phenomena exist elsewhere in the world
and have their own names (Alps =foehn)
• Temperature may rise as much as 36 ° F (20 °C) in
1 hr, plus sharp drop in RH
• Two kinds of chinook: with and without rain
 Pros and Cons

• Pros: relief from winter cold (main source is

compressional heating), uncovers prairie grass,
railroads

• Cons: fire hazard, crop failure (parched soil), high

speed wind may do damage, human behavior?
 Chinook With Rain

• Air flows up a mountain.

Air expands and cools as
it moves into lower
pressure.
• Cooled air reaches
saturation and water
vapor condenses,
releasing L.H. into air on
uphill side Fig. 7.9: Conditions that may
enhance a chinook
 Chinook With Rain

• Cooling on upwind side is reversed as air is

compressed downwind - compressional heating

• Net effect on the air after passing over the

mountain:
– Air is fairly dry since moisture lost on upwind
side
– Air is warm (sometimes a great deal warmer)
because of L.H. released + compressional heating
 Chinook Without Rain

• Sometimes air to W of
mountain only flows
over if it is above the
mountain top
• Air below stays on W
side
• As upper level air flows
over mountain it is
compressed and
warms

Fig. 7.10: A chinook wall cloud over

the rockies
 Question

Why don't chinook winds form on the east side of

the Appalachians?
 Santa Ana Wind
• Hot dry wind that often sweeps through
the L.A. Basin in the fall and winter.

• Need a strong H over S. USA

• winds descend from the higher desert

terrain down in to the L.A. Basin - parcels
become warmer and drier due to
compressional heating

• wind speeds are enhanced as the flow

channels through the mountain passes

• Especially in fall, these hot dry winds fan

fires that threaten LA

Fig. 7.11: Surface map showing Santa Ana in January.

Downslope winds into S. CA raised temperatures into the 80’s
 Question

In what ways is the Santa Ana similar to the

Chinook wind?
 Dust Devil
• Usually forms on a hot sunny day in a desert
• VERY unstable conditions
• Looks like a small tornado but is not
• Typically taller, weaker and shorter lived
than a tornado

Fig. 7.12: Formation of a dust devil. Unstable atmosphere (hot/dry day).

Heated air rises, wind blowing past obstruction twists the rising air
 Global Scale Winds

• Wind is determined by pressure

– Fast wind where isobars are close (lg. PGF)
– High to Low pressure, deflection to right in N.
hemisphere with CCW flow around lows,
CW around highs
– High to Low pressure, deflection to left in S.
hemisphere with CW flow around lows, CCW
around highs
• Upper-level pressure distribution is determined by
temperature
– Upper-level high pressure where warm, because
warm air expands
– Upper-level low where cold
 General Circulation of the Atmosphere

• Why? NE in Honolulu, W in New

York?

• Represents average air

flow around the globe
• Is created by unequal heating
at earth's surface
• General circulation's function is
to transport heat poleward
 Simplest Model

• If you assume:

– earth is uniformly covered with water (no land!)

– sun is directly over equator (no seasons!)
– no rotation

• You will end up with a single-cell pattern

– called the Hadley Cell
– warm air rises at the equator, cold air sinks at the
poles
 Simplest Model

Fig. 7.14: General circulation on a non rotating earth, sun over

equator (no land masses)
 Single Cell Model

• This single-cell pattern

is not observed

• What we have is more

complicated

• .... what important

process have we
neglected??
 Three Cell
• Three-cells
Model
• surface pressure
• surface winds
• comparison to real
world???

+ ROTATION (CF)
 Three Cell Model
• Equator:
– warm air
– center of P system gradient is zero - light winds – doldrums
– thunderstorms provide latent heat to drive Hadley cell
– at tropopause air moves N, CF deflects right ‘westerlies aloft’
– cools and piles up at mid-lattitudes
• 30º:
– P at surface increases - subtropical highs
– dry air warms by compression
– clear skies and warm T’s – deserts
– center of P system gradient is zero - Weak winds over the ocean –
horse latitudes
– Some air moves back to equator from the NE – trade winds
• ITCZ
– NE trades converge with SE trades
– Sensible+latent heat
Hadley Cell
 Three Cell Model
• 30º:
– Air moves N, CF deflects right – westerlies
– N hemi: Not constant since H and L’s break up this flow
– S hemi: more steady
• 60 º: Ferrel
– Warm air meets cold – polar front
– Convergence zone of L pressure – subpolar cell
Low
– Air returns to horse latitudes

• Polar front
– Cold air from pole deflected by CF – polar easterlies
– Moves into middle and subtropical areas in winter –cold Polar
– At the front rising air moves poleward – westerlies aloft cell
 Understanding Average Surface Pressure
and Wind
• Conclusion:
– Works well with surface winds
• Summary:
– 2 high (30°, 90°)
– 2 low (0°, 60°)
– trade winds,
– westerlies,
– polar easterlies
 Problems With the 3-Cell Model

• Middle and high latitudes dominated by migrating

frontal cylones (L) and anticyclones (H)
(Chp8)

• Features change in intensity and location with

seasons

• Land and sea temperature contrasts

Average Surface P and Winds During January

• Semi-permanent
pressure areas:
– Bermuda
High
– Pacific High
– Aleutian Low
– Icelandic Low

• Seasonal
pressure areas:
– Siberian
High
– Canadian
High
Average Surface P and Winds During July

• Semi-permanent
pressure areas:
• Bermuda
High
• Pacific High
• Icelandic Low

• Seasonal
• Monsoon
pressure areas:
Low
• Thermal Low
over SW US Sub-tropical H pressure belt
breaks up: surface heating forms
L’s over land
 Surface Map For July

Mean July prevailing surface winds and centers of atmospheric

pressure
ITCZ Movement
 Questions

How do the strength and position of these

feature differ from July to January?
Why?

Why is the ITCZ further North in July than

January?
 Global Rainfall

• High where air rises:

– tropics (ITCZ)
– polar front
• Low where air sinks:
– subtropical highs and poles

Fig. 7.17: Major pressure systems and idealized motions and

precipitation patterns of the general circulation
 Latitudinal Displacement

• 10- 15º Latitudinal displacement of major features

• Affects climate
 Pacific and Bermuda Highs
• Pacific high - moves northward during summer
– Sinking air (subsidence) on E side keeps weather dry
– During winter, it moves south over warmer ocean, pushed by
polar front to bring rain to SW US
• Bermuda high - transports warm, moist subtropical air to US and
southern Canada
– This air can be unstable

• Weather associated with subtropical highs can vary dramatically

depending on where you are located!
– Depends on amount of subsidence
 Jet Streams
• Concentration of upper-level winds
• > 100 knots, 33-46,000 ft
• Form due to horizontal
pressure differences aloft
– e.g. Polar Front Jet and
Subtropical jet
• Steer weather systems
• The jet streams exhibit a "wavy"
pattern around the globe....

Fig. 7.20: Jet stream

 Jet Stream Waves
• Often have troughs and
ridges
• Generally have a jet
maximum (jet streak) in the
base of the trough
• Transport heat poleward
(cold air south and warm
air north)
 Question

How is the polar jet stream formed????

 Polar Je
t
• Polar Jet Stream
– boundary between warm
air to the S and cold air
to the N at the polar front

– location of a large T
gradient near the
surface

– Hence, the large

T gradient at the surface
across the polar front
creates a large pressure
gradient aloft
 1. During which season is the jet stream stronger,
winter or summer?

Question
2. Why does the polar jet stream shift northward
during the summer?
 Question

When they are hitting the beaches in Southern

California in January, they are probably digging out in
New York City True or False?
 Review
• The two major semi-permanent subtropical highs that influence the
weather of N. America are the high situated off the W
coast and the high situated off the SE coast
• The front is a zone of low pressure where storms often
form. It separates the mild westerlies of the middle latitudes from the
cold, polar easterlies of the high latitudes
• In equatorial regions, the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is a
boundary where air rises in response to the convergence of the
northeast trades and the southeast trades
• In the N. hemisphere, the major global pressure systems and wind
belts shift northward in summer and southward in winter
• The northward movement of the Pacific high in summer tends to keep
summer weather along the west coast of North America relatively dry
• Jet streams exist where strong winds become concentrated in narrow
bands. The polar-front jet stream meanders in a wavy, west-to-east
pattern, becoming strongest in winter when the contrast in temperature
between high and low latitudes is greatest
 Ocean Currents

• Ocean currents are generally CW in N.

hemisphere and CCW in S. hemisphere

• Reason why: ocean water is pushed by water

flowing around high pressure
 Some Important Ocean Currents

1- gulf stream
3- laborador current
7 north equatorial current
8north equatorial. counter current
9- south equatorial current
10- south equatorial counter current
11- equatorial counter current
12- kuroshio current
14- Alaska current
16- California current
Fig. 7.23: Major surface ocean currents
 Gulf Stream
• Provides heat+moisture for mid-latitude cyclones

• Westerlies steer Gulf Stream towards Europe

• Compare position of UK to Canada. Winter temperatures

are warmer than expected at this latitude

• Because of the Gulf Stream?

– New thinking…
– the surrounding ocean stores heat in the summer and
gradually releases it in winter. Where winds blow from west
to east, as across the North Atlantic, the heat released in
winter preferentially warms the land areas to the east of the
ocean. + effect of Rocky Mountains pushing westerlies
from the SW.
 Circulations
• Atmospheric and ocean
circulations are closely
linked

• Currents and wind help

transfer heat from
equator to the poles

• If there was an
imbalance yearly T
differences would
increase and climate
would change…
 Upwelling

• Cold California current

flows parallel to W
coast
• May expect cool ocean
temp. at Washington,
warming as move
south…but not the
case!

Fig. 7.24: Average sea surface temperature along W coast during august
 Upwelling
• Water pushed away from land brings up deeper water
– N surface winds create offshore flow.
– Cold, nutrient-rich water rises to replace the surface
water (good for fishing- Peru)
 Question

Why do the major ocean currents in the North

Indian Ocean reverse direction between summer
and winter?
 El Niño
• El Niño refers to the E movement of warm water from the
W equatorial pacific to the E equatorial pacific.
• Initially referred to a weak, warm current appearing
annually around Christmas time along the coast of
Ecuador and Peru (not good for their fishing industry)
• Can produce significant economic and atmospheric
consequences worldwide
• Occur every 3-7 years, lasting about one year
• Last event (1997-1998) was largest ever recorded
 Southern Oscillation
• Observation: “Low index" phase (lower map for
– air pressures at sea level in the November 1982)
South Pacific seesaws back and  –barometers rise in the west and
forth between two distinct patterns. fall in the east, a reduction or
• “High index" (upper map) even a reversal of the pressure
pressure is higher to the east of difference between Australia and
Tahiti than to the west near Tahiti.
Australia.  –The flattening of the seesaw
– The pressure difference along the causes the easterly surface winds
equator causes surface air to flow to weaken and retreat eastward
westward, as indicated by the long as shown.
arrow.  –We now know that the "low
index" phase is usually
accompanied by El Nino
 conditions.

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga
- tao/figure9.html
 Normal, Non El Niño Conditions
• Normal, non El Niño conditions
• Extreme of this is La Nina

Fig. 7.26: Cold water from upwelling moves west and is warmed
by sunilight
 Onset of El Niño
 During a normal year, there is a large pool of
warm water in the W pacific.
equator toward S.Winds relax, allowing water from W pacific to
America slosh along

 Fig. 7.27: (a)

upwelling
along
equator and
S. Amer.
Coast keeps
water cool
Fig. 7.27: (b) El Niño sea
surface temperatures (from
satellites)
 El Niño
• El Niño conditions
Duration of El Niño
 Effects of El Niño
•Abnormally warm water fuels the atmosphere with
additional warmth and moisture

Fig. 7.28: Regions of climatic abnormalities associated with El Niño – Southern

Oscillation conditions.
 • Adisappointing fishing season in the normally rich
fishing region off Peru can mean flooding rains for
Florida and mudslides in California True or
False?
Question
• The failure of the monsoon in India can mean a mild
winter is coming for the United States True or False?
 Web Sites of Interest

• www.ElNino.noaa.gov
• www.pmel.noaa.gov
(Pacific Marine Env. Lab.)
• www.coaps.fsu.edu
(Center for Ocean-
Atmosphere Prediction
Studies)
• http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/jsdisplay/plots/mpeg/T

AO_SST_Wind.mpeg
(Movie)