Trade Wind Research Paper

Trade winds are relatively consistent breezes that blow from the northeast in the northern hemisphere (Northeasterlies), and blow from the southeast in the southern hemisphere (Southeasterlies) towards the equator. Seamen taking voyages across the Atlantic Ocean on large sailing vessels used the trade winds because they were reliable and rarely stopped blowing. When a trade wind reaches the west it loops back east and turns into a prevailing westerly. Trade winds have influences on the weather and can sometimes be fierce. Christopher Columbus, the man credited for finding America, was the one to discover tradewinds when they blew his three ships from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas. In 1492, it took Christopher Columbus 36 days to sail his 3 vessels a distance of 5,400 miles across the Atlantic Ocean at its widest point. In 1970, a Norwegian archaeologist constructed a boat made out of reeds (just as ancient Egyptians would build their boats) and trade

Trade winds can carry dust and sand for thousands of kilometers. The Caribbean Sea and Florida are about 8,047 kilometers away from the Saharan Desert. Trade winds in Africa are not usually welcome because it blows away their valuable topsoil (top layer of soil that contains the most nutrients). The dust storms that are then created make the sky over the ocean look hazy and create dry low pressured areas. This can cause a lack of tropical storms.

Trade winds can be a blessing or a curse, consistently and constantly blowing on either side of the equator . For pre-industrial age sailors, it was a blessing because it helped blow their trade ships more quickly. For people in the caribbean, trade winds can be a curse because they blow in hurricanes and tropical storms. In Africa, the trade winds blow away precious topsoil. We should be thankful that they carried the man credited for finding