InsightsUnveiled

Pressure gradient is the amount of change in atmosphere pressure between 2 points & is depicted on the synoptic chart by the differential spacing of isobars(imaginary lines joining points on the map with equal barometric pressure)-a wide spacing indicates weak or gentle gradient (& therefore wind of low velocity) while narrow spacing indicates a steep gradient (& therefore winds of high velocity).Thus, when the wind is subjected to greater pressure on one side than on the other, this imbalance produces a net imbalanced force from a region of high pressure to the region of low pressure called the Pressure Gradient Force.                     Pressure gradient force=1/density of atmosphere*(rate of pressure change*over distance 'P' )/(rate of pressure change* in the direction 'X' ) This pressure difference between the two isobars cause the wind to blow as per Newton's second law f motion & if these differences are high wind velocity is high &

jet stream is narrow belt of high altitude (>12000m.) westerly winds in the troposphere whose speed varies between 10 Km./hr(in summer) to 184Km./hr(in winter),although velocities of over 370Km./hr. has been recorded occasionally. Their location & velocities have an important effect on travel times of flying aircraft especially in mid-latitude air routes. Westerlies are the wind system which dominates the zones between latitude 40(degrees)N/S & 70(degrees)N/S of the equator. The flows of air from the sub-tropical high pressure cells to the temperate zone of low pressure cell, thereby maintaining the fundamental meridional heat exchange mechanism.The prevailing wind direction in northern hemisphere is from south-west & in the northern hemisphere in the north-west.it is one of he strongest & most undisturbed airflows among the planetary winds. the velocity increases with height & the southern hemisphere westerlies are stronger than their northern hemespherial

An isotherm is an imaginary line drawn on a weather chart or map to join places of equal temperature. Temperature varies from season -as there is high temperature during summer & low temperature during winter with minor changes during transitionary seasons. We know that temperature is proportional to atmospheric pressure & inversely proportional to density.                                                        A.P.=K*D*T                                                           T=A.P*1/D where,A.P.=atmospheric pressure;K=constant;D=density;T=temperature      During the summer season in either of the hemisphere's the sun is vertically overhead of the tropic of cancer/capricorn.The land which has a low specific heat capacity & also being a bad conductor of heat re-radiates the heat to the atmosphere resulting in the spreading of molecules of atmospheric gases due to the heat energy. As molecules spread over a wide region it's pressure on the land becomes l

Hot deserts are located between 15(degrees) & 30(degrees)N/S of the equator on the western part of the continents where the trade winds are off-shore. As a result they don't contain moisture but contain heat which they are carrying away from the sub-tropical high pressure belts. Moreover, the whole of Arabia, N.W.India etc. region fall under the descending limb of the Walker Cell originating over Indonesia which makes these regions a "heat sink" as a result temperatures remain high & pressure low since, density is low as the heat energy is encouraging individual atoms & molecules to move away from each other by breaking away the inter-molecular force of attraction. The presence of cold currents have  a desiccating effect on the climate of these hot deserts aa they don't emit sensible or latent heat as they travel along like their warm counterparts. For eg.-cold canaries current & cold benguela current  flow along the western part of Africa, Californi

Blowing of strong trade wind have a frictional drag on warm surface water of ocean away from it's source environment resulting in divergence caused due to coriolis force.the removal of light warm water from the surface encourage upwelling of cold Benthos water to the surface as in for example-the Peruvian current (Humbolt current ) off-South America. Lapse rate steepening, instability & free convection over warm water is now being replaced by surface temperature inversion & stability.                                 The replacement of cold Peruvian current in the tropical pacific basin by incursion at periodic levels by a weak warm ocean current that flows south along the coast of Ecuador & Peru. This disruption is called El Nino commonly occurring during Christmas season. Southern Oscillation is a climatologically term referring to perturbation in the inter tropical general circulation, especially in the Indian Ocean & south pacific. The term was introduced

The obscurity by the surface layers of the atmosphere owing to the presence of water droplets formed by condensation, amplified by suspended particles of smoke & dust which occur.                     Fogs are classified as follows:- a) Advection Fog:- A fog formed when a relatively warm, moist & stable air mass moves laterally over a cooler surface thereby reducing the temperature of the lower layer of the air mass causing inversion of temperature until it reaches the dew point when condensation takes place. This may occur when warm maritime air moves over the cold landmass or when warm continental air mass moves of-shore across a cold ocean current.Eg.-Gulf stream meeting air above cold Labrador current near the grand banks of new foundland.                            It sometimes develops over a frozen, snow covered land mass in conjugation with radiation fog. If the air flow is too vigorous & beyond 8m/sec. in velocity then the fog will rise to form low altitud

It's a name given to the westerly winds of the low latitudes,caused when the north-east & south-east trade winds are deflected on the crossing the equator & develop a westerly component thereby becoming the equatorial westerlies whenever the inter-tropical convergence zone is more than 5 degree away from the equator.           The shifting of the position is related to the shifting of pressure belts 5(degree)N/S to 10(degree)N/S as per the movement of the sun & the amount of insolation received.When the sun is overhead the tropic of cancer,differential heating leads to a low pressure region over the north-west India,Arabia etc. which provokes ascending warm air causing lower air convergence thus, inviting the south-east trades( which are constant & carry moisture due to their path of motion over the seas/oceans) to cross the equator & get deflected to the right as per Ferrel's Law & Corriolis Force  & enters the Indian sub-continent as south-wes

Green house effect is an expression referring to the process to describe how short-ave radiation passes easily through the atmosphere to reach Earth’s surface whereas outgoing radiation passes easily through the atmosphere to reach Earth's surface whereas outgoing radiation is absorbed & reradiated by water vapor droplets & cabon-di-oxide.the burning of fossil fuel is a reason for the accentuation of this effect. The current annual increase of carbon-di-oxide is 0.4%. the effects of green house effect could be as follows:- 1) Future sea level rise: Environmental & Socio-political considerations two processes will contribute to the rise in mean sea level. An atmospheric warming of several degrees would warm the upper layer of the ocean, causing it to expand in volume like the liquid mercury in a hospital thermometer. Melting of mountain top glaciers would find it's ways into oceans by the increased run-off & such melting of mountain glaciers would raise

Easterly waves or eastern depressions are roughs of low pressure embedded in north-east trade winds & they move from east to west.They develop in broad convergence zone formed by an aggregation of several cloud clusters within ITCZ. Since,the resultant vigorous convection takes place too close to equator where Coriolis force is too weak to generate circular atmospheric motions & major synoptic-scale disturbances comparable with mid-latitude depressions.the tropical convection becomes associated with pronounced wave like undulations & thwart trade winds. These troughs alternate with high pressure ridges (divergence zones) with wavelengths between 2000Km & 4000 Km.these waves have a life span of upto 2 weeks & travel westwards  (in trade wind flow) 6(degrees) - 7 (degrees) long/day at a speed of 5 - 7 m/sec. ,in deep trade wind flow of the southern limb of the Azores & North Pacific sub-tropical highs .The shallow weak troughs extend from equator to the

Similarities between land & sea breeze are as follows:- 1) In land & sea breeze land & sea/ocean is involved.                                                                             Here, land (but subcontinent or apart of the subcontinent) & ocean/sea (never a lake or minor water body) is involved. 2)It is caused due to thermal contrast between land & sea due to differential specific heat capacity of land & water.                                                                          In Asian monsoon circulation, thermal contrasts during the different seasons (especially summer & winter when contrasts are maximum) between land & sea is it's cause, due to difference in specific heat capacity between land & water. 3)In land & sea breeze both horizontal & vertical heat transfers occur.                                                                  In Asian monsoon circulation, both horizontal & vertical heat trans

Although precise definition of monsoon is lacking but it can be used to connote a wind which blows with consistency & regularity during a part of the year & is absent or blows from another direction for the rest of the year which is due to the heat received by different parts of the Earth.        In Genetic sense, monsoon is associated with following features:- 1) A system with seasonal marked wind shifts due to differential heating of land & sea; 2) winds that are largely confined to tropics between 20(degrees)N-20(degrees)S; 3) Summer monsoon may be thought of a South-East trade winds of southern hemisphere which on crossing the equator are deflected to the right by the Earth's rotation & approach the land from south-west.               In the recent years hypotheses for the development of monsoon is changing very rapidly. More investigations have been made to study the monsoon system in detail in the recent years. Many information data has been coll

The displacement of an air parcel to an environment of low pressure without exchange with surrounding air causes an increase in its volume & a consequent lowering of temperature .Since, volumetric increase involves work & consumption of energy so, both heat available per unit volume & temperature decreases. Such a temperature change involving no subtraction & addition of heat is called adiabatic temperature change. Adiabatic lapse ate is the rate of temperature decrease in rising expanding air parcel. When this rising air parcel does not produce condensation it's called Dry adiabatic lapse rate. However, prolonged temperature decrease will result in super cooled water with latent heat energy stored  in the form of potential energy since the air parcel is moving against gravity & contains energy to the amount of 2260Joules/gram of this moisture laden air. Condensation will take place with the condensation taking place on suspended condensation nuclei in air

An air mass which is defined as a large body of air whose physical properties especially temperature, moisture & lapse rate are more or less uniform horizontally for hundreds of kilometers.                             barotropic condition of atmosphere is theoretically ideal condition where surfaces of constant pressure are not intersected by isostereic(constant density) surfaces, so that in a vertical cross-section isobars(imaginary lines joining places of equal atmospheric pressure) & isotherms appear parallel i.e,zero baroclinicity.It is a rare phenomenon & is found in case of frontogenesis,separated by baroclinic front zone.          Baroclinic condition of atmosphere is seen in comparatively narrow zones (perhaps 1000Km. in width) of thermal discontinuity also known as fronts in air mass property. They are belts of sharp meteorological gradient recognized as distinct factors in the origin of mid-latitude disturbances. The instability is associated with rising wa

Dry adiabatic lapse rate is the measure to describe the change of temperature with height.When a parcel of unsaturated air rises through the atmosphere in equilibrium condition it expands & cools at a constant rate @ 1 degree Celsius/100m of ascent.                                         Saturated adiabatic lapse rate or wet adiabatic lapse rate is the measure used to describe the changing temperature of a saturated body of air through atmosphere due to expansion & the temperature remains between 0.4 degree Celsius to 0.9 degree Celsius per 100m ascent of atmosphere by the air parcel.It is always lower than dry adiabatic lapse rate.                                            Now! on condensation,saturated adiabetic lapse rate will release more latent heat since it's air parcel contains more water vapor molecules than the air parcel undergoing dry adiabatic lapse rate.We know pressure is inversely proportional to the density.We also know that pressure is inversely

Although precise definition of monsoon is lacking but it can be used to define a wind that blows with consistency & regularity during one part of the year & is absent or blow from another direction during the other part of the year, which is due to the heat received by the different parts of the earth.                    In genetic sense monsoon is associated with the following features:- 1) system with seasonal marked wind shifts due to differential heating of land & sea; 2) winds that are largely confined to the tropics between 20(degrees)N to 20 (degrees)S; 3)summer monsoons may be thought of as south-east trade winds of southern hemisphere which on crossing the equator are deflected to the right by the earth's rotation & approach the land from the south-west direction.                     However, it must be kept in mind that monsoon mechanism of other continents is not so well marked as the Indian monsoon mechanism. The earliest systematic study