Atmospheric circulation

A long-term transformation in Earth’s climate over time. It is a a change due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperature: Melting glaciers imply that life in the Arctic is affected by climate change. This could be a change in a place normal temperature for a month or season. It refers to any distinct change in measures of climate lasting for a long period. In other words, it means major changes in temperature, rainfall, snow, or wind patterns lasting for decades or longer. Climate…

Imagine a world filled by gases and the only way you could breath is with a mask. You may be thinking, well that only happens in the movies. NO! The carbon dioxide levels are rising at unprecedented rates and scientists believe this could actually happen... The strange part is that most scientists think it is us, the humans causing this problem. For decades now a major political and scientific topic has been climate change. The EPA defines climate change as “any significant change in the…

According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), ocean acidification is defined as, “a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere”. Carbon dioxide that has…

South Africa is surrounded by three major oceans namely the Atlantic, the Indian and the Southern Ocean. The west and east coast of South Africa are geographically and oceanographically distinct, supporting a wide variety of marine life. The west coast of South Africa is characterised by the relatively cold, slow-moving Benguela Current. The marine life along the west coast is adapted to colder temperatures. The waters of the west coast are nutrient-rich and support a large abundance of fish.…

currently altering the make-up of the second largest ice sheet on earth. The current atmospheric changes that are occurring in the Arctic are forcing record weather events that are contributing to the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Within the atmosphere, the Arctic is undergoing extreme fluctuations related to climate change that are greater than any other point of the earth. Due to the current atmospheric changes that are occurring in the Arctic, the Greenland ice sheet is rapidly melting…

Reactions similar to this one tend to buffer changes in atmospheric CO2. The right side of the equation indicated that the reaction produces an acidic compound. If adding CO2 to the left side, would decrease the pH of water in ocean. This process is often been described as ocean acidification, where pH of the ocean becomes less and force the pH of water to be acidic. Rather than this reaction there are other reactions between CO2 and non-carbonate rocks which also add bicarbonate into the…

The Beaufort Gyre, a major anticyclonic circulation feature in the Arctic Ocean, hosts a substantial fraction of the overall Arctic freshening citep{haine2015arctic}. The large-scale gyre circulation has been directly linked to its freshwater content (FWC) via the process of Ekman pumping that converges relatively fresh surface waters and deepens the halocline citep[e.g.][]{proshutinsky2002role}. The Ekman pumping arises due to transient anticyclonic winds that cause significant gyre…

Included is a systematic development of the following: thermal patterns, atmospheric moisture, horizontal and vertical pressure patterns, clouds, atmospheric circulation, local winds, stability, air masses, fronts, fog, icing, thunderstorms, turbulence and density altitude. Textbook Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge; U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal…

The wind carries heat from the Equator to the Poles, and from day to the night side and this is where the rotation comes in to help it along. When the atmosphere is thick then the winds are efficient in circulation. This is not the case when it comes to the moon because there is no air and there can 't be any effect on it either. The temperatures on them moon range from very low on the night side and very high on the day side, so there is no moderate level…

Consider the following questions on the carbon cycle: [2 pts] Assume that the atmospheric reservoir of CO2 contains 830 Gt of carbon, and the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere is 180 Gt of carbon per year. What is the residence time of CO2 in the atmosphere? (Give units) The residence time of CO2 in this atmospheric reservoir is 4.61 years. [6 pts] Using the concepts we’ve discussed in class, explain two temporal patterns that you observe in the figure below and the processes…