Thermal Circulation

1
Thermal Circulation

• By
• Dr. Robert M MacKay
• Clark College Physics Meteorology

2
A tale of two identical cities
3
The air above City 1 cools and that above City 2
warms
4
Air pressure aloft is High above City 2
5
Winds aloft blow from city 2 to city 1.
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
Examples of Thermal Circulations
11
Sea Breeze during the day
12
Land Breeze at night
13
Very dry
South East Asian Monsoon
14
Very wet
South East Asian Monsoon
15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
Mountain or Valley breeze??
18
Upward motion of Valley breeze made visible by
clouds
19
Sea breeze convergence zone in Florida giving
rise to very frequent thunderstorms. Florida has
more thunderstorms each year than anywhere else
in the US.
20
(No Transcript)
21

Stepped Art
Fig. 9-25, p. 241
22
(No Transcript)
23
(No Transcript)
24
Local Winds

• Santa Anna Winds
• Warm dry that blows from east or northeast don
  canyons into S. California
• Very fast, desiccates vegetation, providing fuel
  for fires
• Desert winds
• Dust storms, sand storms, dust devil, haboob

25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)