PRESSURE & WIND,

GENERAL CIRCULATION,
JET STREAMS

FORCES that move AIR:

Winds Aloft:

Surface Winds:

(top of troposphere)
1. Gravity
1. Gravity

2. Pressure gradient

2. Pressure gradient

3. Coriolis effect

3. Coriolis effect

4. Friction

1. Gravity
Earth exerts gravitational force on atmosphere.
(This causes pressure and density to be greater closer to
earth.)
Acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/sec2

2. Pressure Gradient
a)

Vertical

(Remember hydrostatic equilibrium)

997
998
999
1000

surface

2. Pressure Gradient
b) Horizontal (wind)

Pressure Gradient Force (PGF)

1005 1000 995 990 985

PGF is perpendicular to isobars.

high wind speed.

low wind speed.

Wind speed determined by steepness of gradient.

Current weather map

3. Coriolis Effect / Force

Apparent deflection of moving object due to rotation of earth.

Animation

Animation

Animation

Animation

Deflection
1. Is to the right of the path of motion in the
northern hemisphere and to the left of the
path of motion in the southern hemisphere.
2. Increases with latitude:
maximum at poles; zero at equator
Plane of deflecting force is parallel to earths
surface at poles; no component of deflection
parallel to surface at equator.

Deflection...

3. Increases with wind speed.

4. Increases with mass of object.

CE is perpendicular to path of motion.

If PG and CE were only forces on atmosphere, wind would blow
parallel to isobars.

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4. Friction

Surface provides friction to atmospheric

movement; slows down the air.

Minimal friction aloft

> 3000 ft in troposphere
friction layer : 0 3000 ft
Winds aloft blow parallel to isobars:
geostrophic wind

geostrophic balance

balance between pressure gradient and Coriolis forces acting on a parcel

so that the forces are equal in magnitude but in opposite directions

GEOSTROPHIC WIND
Northern Hemisphere

Around and clockwise

Around and counterclockwise

Southern Hemisphere
L
H

Around and counterclockwise

Around and clockwise

How do surface winds differ from these upper tropospheric

winds?

Friction and Surface Winds

Drag produced by surface.
Frictional force is applied opposite to direction of
air motion; causes wind to blow across the
isobars.

At surface, friction reduces wind speed, which reduces Coriolis effect.

Coriolis can not balance PGF so wind crosses isobars.

Southern hemisphere
PG

CE

HIGH

Resulting wind direction:

PG

Southern hemisphere

Out and
counterclockwise

IN
D

HIGH
FRIC

CE

S. hem, HIGH

HIGH

Southern hemisphere
PG

CE

LOW

Southern
hemisphere

CE

PG
In and
clockwise

LOW

S. hem, LOW

LOW

Northern hem, HIGH

Out and
clockwise

HIGH

Northern hem, LOW

In and
counterclockwise

LOW

General
Circulation

Global Wind Systems

driven by Highs
and Lows at surface
Where are Highs and
Lows?

Imagine the earth with

no rotation
HIGH

There would be a single

cell of convection in each
hemisphere

LOW

But the earth rotates

Coriolis deflection
causes air to be deflected
from those simple
convective pathways

Creating 3 cells in each

hemisphere and a surface
High Pressure in subtropics

Lets look at SURFACE

Components of each cell

Hadley Cells
Strong and persistent
Warm air rising at
Intertropical Convergence
Zone (ITCZ)
At top of troposphere,
spreads poleward, sinks at
Subtropical Highs
Blows towards ITCZ at
Surface, creating

Trade Winds
Between subtropical
Highs and ITCZ

NE in N. Hem
SE in S. Hem

Ferrel cells
Not as strong,
persistent, welldefined

Westerlies
(surface component of Ferrel cells)
35o - 60o N & S
not

steady or
persistent

Polar Front Zone

60o - 65o N & S
zone of conflict
between
differing air
masses

Polar Easterlies
65o - 80o N & S
more

prevalent
in Southern,
variability in
Northern

Distribution of land masses disturbs this idealized

system of Highs, Lows, winds
Why?

Uneven heating of land and water creates temperature differences

and therefore pressure differences over land vs water with seasonal changes

Canadian High

Siberian High
Icelandic Low

Aleutian Low
Azores Bermuda High
Pacific High

Pacific High

Azores Bermuda High

Monsoonal Low

Upper Air
Movement

500
625
750
875
1000
City
HEAT

City
COOL

Isobaric
surfaces

DECREASED DENSITY

INCREASED DENSITY
It takes a shorter column of
cold air to exert the same
surface pressure as a tall
column of warm air.

500

625

500
625

750

750

875

875
1000

1000
HEAT

COOL

500

2300 meters
Constant Pressure Map
(isobaric maps)

625

750
1100 meters
850

500
625
750
850

1000

1000

Constant pressure map

shows elevation of a
certain pressure.

Low heights and troughs

represent cold air.
High heights and ridges
represent warm air.

5520

5400

5580
5640
5700

Currently:

Current surface temperature map

Current map of heights of 500 mb layer

Constant Altitude Map

Shows pressure at a given altitude

500
625
550 mb
750
810mb
1000m
850

1000m

500
625
750
850

1000

1000

1000m

On a constant altitude
map:

low pressures indicate Cold Air

high pressures indicate Warm Air

High heights on a constant pressure

surface map are equivalent to high
pressures on a constant altitude map

Low 500 mb heights are associated

with low pressure at any given
altitude;

High 500 mb heights are associated

with high pressure at any given
altitude.

Therefore, high and low heights tell you where

high and low pressures are (for a given altitude)

Upper Level Winds

Westerly

in mid- and high latitudes

(20-90 N & S)

Easterly

in Tropics (15N - 15S)

 Upper

Level Westerlies have ridges

and troughs:
Rossby

Waves (Longwaves)

Wavelength

3 - 6 loops around earth

above

= 1000s km

500 mb layer

influence surface weather

Converging height lines

make wind speeds increase

On warm side, pressure drops less rapidly with

altitude than on cold side; Note isobaric surfaces
slope and slope increases with altitude

Therefore, wind speed increases with

altitude
JET

STREAMS : zones of high wind speed

(Narrow bands, speed increases toward center
(up to 150 mph))
Embedded
below
Jet

in upper level Westerlies

tropopause

streams are located above strong

temperature contrasts at surface

Polar Jet Stream

Subtropical Jet Stream

Polar Front Jet Stream

Between midlatitude tropopause and polar

tropopause

Polar Jet

above Polar Front Zone :

Where cold dense polar air meets warmer air from mid-latitudes

Can see polar jet on 300 mb maps

Current 300 mb map

Subtropical Jet Stream

Between midlatitude tropopause and tropical

tropopause

Subtropical Jet
greatest wind speed at
North edge of Hadley
cell

due to
Conservation of
Angular
Momentum:
(smaller radius of
rotation, faster the
spin)

Enhanced warming in Arctic is affecting Rossby waves

Highs and Lows move

horizontally

Highs move towards convergence aloft

Surface pressure rises in direction High is

moving and falls in its wake

Rising barometer means air is being ADDED aloft

and sinking air (clear skies) are coming