SWE-4205

Climate change and Food Security

Chapter 03
Pressure, winds and general circulation

Falguni Akter
Assistant Professor
SWE Discipline, KU
 Contents
Lecture 01
 Atmospheric Pressure
 Geostrophic Wind
 global wind systems

Lecture 02
 Polar front theory
 Weathering forecast determining technology
 Climatology Method
 Analog Method
 Persistence and Trends Method
 Numeric Method

Lecture 03
 Atmosphere-ocean interactions
 El Niño and La Niña
 Southern oscillation
 Atmospheric Pressure
• Atmospheric pressure, also known barometric
pressure, force per unit area exerted by an atmospheric
column (that is, the entire body of air above the specified area).

• Atmospheric pressure can be measured with

a mercury barometer.

• Atmospheric pressure is expressed in several different systems

of units:
▫ millimetres (or inches) of mercury,
▫ pounds per square inch (psi),
▫ dynes per square centimetre,
▫ millibars (mb),
▫ standard atmospheres, or
▫ kilopascals.
• The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure
defined as 101,325 Pa (1,013.25 hPa; 1,013.25 mbar), which is
equivalent to 760 mm Hg, 29.9212 inches Hg, or 14.696 psi.

• The atm unit is roughly equivalent to the mean sea-level

atmospheric pressure on Earth, that is, the Earth's atmospheric
pressure at sea level is approximately 1 atm.

• In most circumstances, atmospheric pressure is closely

approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight
of air above the measurement point.

• Pressure measures force per unit area, with SI units of Pascals

(1 pascal = 1 newton per square metre, 1 N/m2).
 A pressure
gauge reading
Mercury barometer
in psi (red scale) and
kPa (black scale)

Barometer
• As elevation increases, there is less overlying atmospheric
mass, so that atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing
elevation.

▫ The atmospheric pressure on Denali, Alaska, is about half

that of Honolulu, Hawai'i.
▫ Honolulu is a city at sea level.
▫ Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, is the highest peak in
North America.

• As the pressure decreases, the amount of oxygen available to

breathe also decreases.

▫ At very high altitudes, atmospheric pressure and

available oxygen get so low that people can become sick and
even die.
• Near Earth’s surface the pressure decreases with height at a
rate of about 3.5 millibars for every 30 metres (100 feet).

• However, over cold air the decrease in pressure can be much

steeper because its density is greater than warmer air.

• Atmospheric pressure is an indicator of weather.

▫ When a low-pressure system moves into an area, it usually
leads to cloudiness, wind, and precipitation.
▫ High-pressure systems usually lead to fair, calm weather.
• The geostrophic flow is the theoretical wind that would
result from an exact balance between the Coriolis force
and the pressure gradient force.

• This condition is called geostrophic equilibrium or

geostrophic balance (also known as geostrophy).

• The geostrophic wind is directed parallel to isobars (lines

of constant pressure at a given height).

• This balance seldom holds exactly in nature.

• In physics, the Coriolis force is an inertial or fictitious force
that acts on objects that are in motion within a frame of
reference that rotates with respect to an inertial frame.

• In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the force

acts to the left of the motion of the object.

• In one with anticlockwise (or counterclockwise) rotation,

the force acts to the right.

• Deflection of an object due to the Coriolis force is called

the Coriolis effect.
• Surface wind is the wind blowing near the Earth's
surface.

• It is measured by an anemometer (speed) or wind vane

(wind direction) at a standard height of 10 m above ground
in an area
▫ where the distance between the instrument and any
obstruction is at least 10 times the height of the obstruction.

• This distance is known as fetch and is kept in order to

avoid the influence of eddies.
• The global wind pattern is also known as the "general
circulation" and the surface winds of each hemisphere are
divided into three wind belts:

• Polar Easterlies: From 60-90 degrees latitude.

• Prevailing Westerlies: From 30-60 degrees latitude (aka

Westerlies).

• Tropical Easterlies: From 0-30 degrees latitude (aka Trade

Winds).
• The fourThe Four Major
major wind Wind Systems
systems are and Wind Belts
▫ the Polar Easterlies,
▫ tropical Easterlies,
▫ the Prevailing Westerlies and
▫ the Intertropical Convergence Zone.
• These are also wind belts.

• There are three other types of wind belts, also.

• They are called Trade
▫ Winds,
▫ Doldrums, and
▫ Horse Latitudes.
• Polar Easterlies-

▫ Polar Easterlies are located 60-90 degrees latitude in

both the southern and northern hemispheres.

▫ Polar Easterlies are cold and dry because of where it is

located, which is at high latitudes.

▫ This type of wind system forms when cool air, at the

poles, and then transfers to the equator.
• Tropical Easterlies-

▫ Tropical Easterlies take direction in an east to west

flow because of the rotation of the Earth.

▫ As air from the equator rises, it gets warmer and when

it cools down, it comes back down to the equator.

▫ Tropical easterlies are located 0-30 degrees latitude in

both hemispheres.
Horse Latitudes-

▫ Horse latitudes, also known as the subtropical high, are

about 30-35 degrees north and south of the equator.

▫ Horse latitudes is a region where there is weak winds

because of high pressure and decreasing dry air.

▫ The orgin of the name Horse latitudes is uncertain but it

is said that ships that needed wind power couldn't move
on the water and the sailors threw the horses and cattle
over the ship to save on provisions.
Trade Winds-

▫ Trade winds blow from the horse latitudes to the low

pressure of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

▫ Trade winds get its name from its capability of blowing

trade ships across the ocen, very quickly.

▫ In the northern hemisphere, the winds blow from the

northeast, which is called the Northeast Trade winds.

▫ In the Southern hemisphere, the trade winds blow from

the southeast and they're called the Southeast Trade
Winds.
Doldrums-

▫ Doldrums is the same thing as the Intertropical

Convergence Zone (ITCZ), it's just a different name for it.

▫ This name originated from some sailor who noticed the

stillness in the rising air and called it the "doldrums",
which means depression or despondency.

▫ Like I've stated earlier, it takes place 5 degrees north and

south of the equator and between the two belts of trade
winds.

▫ When the trade winds converge, it produces convectional

storms.
• Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)-

▫ The Intertropical Convergence Zone is also known as

Equatorial Convergence Zone or the Intertropical Front.

▫ It forms when southest and northeast trade winds

converge in a low pressure zone, near the equator.

▫ It usually appears as a band of clouds and comes with

thunderstorms, which are short but produce extreme
amounts of rain.
• Prevailing Westerlies-

▫ Prevailing Westerlies are located in the 30-60 degrees

latitude in the northern and southern hemispheres.

▫ Because the air gets trapped between 30 degrees and

60 degrees, a new convection current begins to take
shape, this time in clockwise mode (west to east).
Polar front theory
• In meteorology, the polar front is the boundary between
the polar cell and the Ferrel cell around the 60° latitude in
each hemisphere.

• At this boundary a sharp gradient in temperature occurs

between these two air masses, each at very different
temperatures.

• The polar front arises as a result of cold polar air meeting

warm tropical air.

• It is a stationary front as the air masses are not moving

against each other.
• Hadley Cell

▫ Hadley cells are the air cells of the tropics.

▫ The air gets heated due to insolation at the equator.

▫ As the warm air rises up, it separates and starts moving towards the
north and south poles at a height of about 10-15 kms above the
earth’s surface.

▫ This air cools and sinks towards the ground at 30 degrees north
and south latitudes.

▫ As the air descends, it becomes warmer and drier creating an area

of fewer clouds and lower rainfall.

▫ The air then flows towards the equator as trade winds near the
earth’s surface thus creating a circulation called Hadley cells in the
• Ferrel cell (Mid-latitude Cells)

▫ The average motion of air in the mid-latitudes occurs between

the 30 degree and 60 degrees latitudes in both hemispheres
are called the Ferrel Cells.

▫ In the mid-latitudes, the air flows poleward and eastward near

the surface and equatorward and westward at the higher
altitudes.

▫ The circulation of air in the Ferrel cell is the reverse (W to E)

of the Hadley cell (E to W).

▫ The Ferrel Cell plays a major part in the poleward energy

(mainly heat) transport.
▫ The winds blowing towards the higher latitudes pick
moisture from the oceans and they meet cold air that has
drifted from the poles at around 60 degrees latitudes.

▫ The Meeting of these two air masses creates an area of

unstable weather conditions associated with mid-latitude
depression.

▫ Ferrel cells, unlike the two other cells, are thermally

indirect circulation in which the warmer air descends and
the cooler air rises.

▫ This is so because it is driven by the motions of the cells

on either side i.e. the Hadley cells and the Polar cells.
▫ The Ferrel cell is weak, because it has neither a
strong source of heat nor a strong sink, so the
airflow and temperatures within it are variable.

▫ For this reason, the mid-latitudes are sometimes

known as the "zone of mixing”.
• Polar Cells

▫ The air cells circulating between 60 degrees latitudes

and 90 degrees latitudes is termed as the polar cells.

▫ The cold dense air subsides near the poles and blows
towards middle latitudes as the polar easterlies.

▫ These are the smallest and weakest among the three

cells.

▫ Just like the Hadley cells, the polar cells are thermally
direct.
▫ A high pressure, called the polar high, is created at the
poles as cool air sinks towards the ground.

▫ The low pressure created at 60 degrees latitudes

where the cold polar air mixes with the warm tropical
air and rises upwards is called sub-polar low.

▫ The boundary between the cold and warm air is called

the polar front.
Weathering forecast determining technology

 Climatology Method-

▫ The climatology method offers a simple technique for

generating a weather forecast.

▫ Meteorologists use this method after reviewing

weather statistics gathered over multiple years and
calculating the averages.

▫ They predict the weather for a specific day and

location based on the weather conditions for that same
day for several years in the past.
▫ A forecaster could examine the averages for Labor Day in
Virginia, for example, to predict the weather for the upcoming
Labor Day.

▫ The climatology method works when weather patterns remain in

place.

▫ But in situations where outside factors change the weather

frequently,
 as in climate changes due to global warming

▫ The climatology method is not the best choice for predicting the
weather, as it will more than likely not be accurate.
 Analog Method-

▫ The analog method is a difficult method to use when predicting

the weather because it requires finding a day in the past with
weather similar to the current forecast, which is difficult to do.

▫ For example, suppose the current forecast indicates a warm

day with a cold front imminent in the region of the forecast.

▫ The forecaster could predict similar weather conditions based

on analog comparisons.

▫ But even small differences between the past and the present
can change the results.

▫ That is why the analog method may not be the right choice to
compile a weather forecast.
Persistence and Trends Method –

▫ The persistence and trends method requires little to no

skill to predict the weather because it relies on past
trends.

▫ In an ideal world, the atmosphere changes slowly,

which equates to a forecast tomorrow that stays the
same as today.

▫ This method requires only that you stay abreast of

current temperatures and conditions and know the
region's climate averages.
Numeric Method -

▫ Numerical weather prediction relies on computers to

predict the weather.

▫ Massive supercomputers, complete with software

forecasting models, help meteorologists make weather
predictions based on multiple conditions in the
atmosphere such as
temperatures,
wind speed,
high- and low-pressure systems,
rainfall,
snowfall and
other conditions.
▫ The weather person reviews the data to determine the
weather forecast for the day.

▫ The forecast is only as good as the algorithms used by

the computer's software to predict the weather.

▫ If some of the equations lack precision, they lead to

errors.

▫ All in all, numerical weather prediction provides the

best means to forecast the upcoming meteorological
conditions when compared with the other methods.
Atmosphere-ocean interactions
• The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is one of the most
important climatic phenomena on Earth.

• El Niño and La Niña are opposite extremes of the ENSO, which

refers to cyclical environmental conditions that occur across the
Equatorial Pacific Ocean.

• These changes are due to natural interactions between the ocean

and atmosphere.

• Sea surface temperature, rainfall, air pressure, atmospheric

and ocean circulation all influence each other.

• By influencing global temperatures and precipitation, the ENSO

significantly impacts Earth’s ecosystems and human societies.
What is El Niño? What is La Niña?

• An El Niño condition occurs when surface water in the

equatorial Pacific becomes warmer than average and east
winds blow weaker than normal.

• The opposite condition is called La Niña.

• During this phase of ENSO, the water is cooler than

normal and the east winds are stronger.

• El Niños typically occur every 3 to 5 years.

How ENSO impacts humans and ecosystems
• The interactions between the ocean and atmosphere alters weather
around the world and can result in severe storms or mild
weather, drought or flooding.

• Ecosystems and human communities can be positively or negatively

affected.

• For example, in the Southern United States, during the fall through spring,
El Niño usually causes increased rainfall and sometimes destructive
flooding.

• La Niña, however, usually causes drier weather in the South, but the
Northwest tends to be colder and wetter than average.

• Even though El Niño occurs in the Pacific Ocean, it often reduces

the number of hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Ocean.

• Conversely, La Niña events tend to be related to an increase in the number

of Atlantic hurricanes.
• Beyond “just” influencing the weather, these changes can
produce secondary results that influence
▫ food supplies and prices,
▫ forest fires, and
▫ create additional economic and political consequences.

• Changes in ocean temperatures and currents that happen

during El Niño impact marine life.

• This can impact individuals who make a living fishing and

consumers who depend on certain fish for food.

• Agriculture is of course very dependent on climate and

weather, as a result ENSO’s influence on rainfall and
temperature have important consequences for food
production and availability.
 References
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_pressure#:~:text=Atmosphe
ric%20pressure%2C%20also%20known%20as,inches%20Hg%2C%2
0or%2014.696%20psi
.
• https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/atmospheric-pressu
re
• http://www.meteo.psu.edu/wjs1/Meteo3/Html/generalcirc.htm
• https://dashamlav.com/atmospheric-circulation-hadley-ferrel-polar-cell
s/
• https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/weather-atmosp
here/el-nino
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/physics-and-astronomy/ocean-a
tmosphere-interactions
Thank You