Chapter 8 Review
3. The horizontal wind determines the spacing between the isobars on a surface weather map each day. For example, if the pressure gradient is strong for that specific day, the isobars would be close together resulting in high winds. If there was a low pressure gradient, the isobars would be more spread out. Thus meaning, that the horizontal winds blow from locations that have higher pressures to lower pressures.
6. Earth’s surface affects the horizontal wind speed and other things like direction within the atmospheric boundary layer. The more terrain Earth’s surface has means that it will have higher the eddy viscosity of wind there will be due to the friction. For example, if horizontal wind is blowing through a football field, it
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For cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere, winds blow counterclockwise and inward. Thus causes Earth’s surface winds to move into the center of the cyclone as air rises. The are going through the expansional cooling process and with that, the relative humidity will increase causing stormy weather to occur in that environment.
Critical Thinking
7. For a cyclone to form, there needs to be horizontal divergence. It is needed because it would cause the process where the divergence air above the location which is cold merges when the surface air rises which is warm. The horizontal divergence brings the air that is on Earth’s surface upward, causing a cyclone to form in the atmosphere.
10. The hydrostatic equilibrium is where the atmosphere vertical pressure gradient force and the force of gravity are equal and the both are balanced with one another. The answer would be no. There cannot be a vertical motion of air possible with hydrostatic equilibrium because the gravitational force is balancing it out and without the force of gravity, the pressure gradient force would make the air accelerate into outer space. Furthermore, without the pressure gradient force, the gravity could cause Earth’s atmosphere to