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Idealised depiction (at equinox) of large-scale atmospheric circulation on Earth Long-term mean precipitation by month. Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air and together with ocean circulation is the means by which thermal energy is redistributed on the surface of the Earth.
Convergence zones also occur at a smaller scale. Convergence lines form rows of showers or thunderstorms over a more local area. Sea breezes colliding can trigger development of a convergence line. The heavy rain caused in a short period of time can cause severe flooding. [6]
[4] [5] The mass of lighter air rises, and as it does, it cools due to its expansion at lower high-altitude pressures. It stops rising when it has cooled to the same temperature as the surrounding air. Associated with a thermal is a downward flow surrounding the thermal column.
Atmospheric thermodynamics is the study of heat-to-work transformations (and their reverse) that take place in the Earth's atmosphere and manifest as weather or climate. . Atmospheric thermodynamics use the laws of classical thermodynamics, to describe and explain such phenomena as the properties of moist air, the formation of clouds, atmospheric convection, boundary layer meteorology, and ...
In fluid dynamics, a convection cell is the phenomenon that occurs when density differences exist within a body of liquid or gas. These density differences result in rising and/or falling convection currents, which are the key characteristics of a convection cell. When a volume of fluid is heated, it expands and becomes less dense and thus more ...
A tropical eruption that pumps aerosol into the stratosphere results in localized heating. This increases the temperature difference in the middle atmosphere between the equator and high latitudes, and thereby enhances meridional air flows that spread aerosol into both hemispheres, promoting climate forcing at a worldwide scale.
As the latest report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes clear, while the planet has so far seen an average temperature rise of 1.2 degrees Celsius and will ...
Variable salinity in water and variable water content in air masses are frequent causes of convection in the oceans and atmosphere which do not involve heat, or else involve additional compositional density factors other than the density changes from thermal expansion (see thermohaline circulation). Similarly, variable composition within the ...