Chapter 8

The Ocean and the Atmosphere

Weather & Climate

Meteorology 1400’s

Rain gauge Anemometer Humidity

1600’s Barometer

Atmospheric circulation cells Edmund Halley George Hadley William Ferrell

Weather Prediction & Chaos Theory

Air-Sea Interface Vapor Pressure Evaporation Condensation

Clouds

Dimethyl Sulfides (DMS) Self-supporting

thermal control system

The Atmosphere

Wind Stress & Turbulence

Sea Ice Forms at polar latitudes Salt molecules excluded from ice latticework

Sea Ice Floes Ridges & hummocks Fast ice

Sea Ice

Arctic Semi-enclosed 2-3 m 3% decrease per

decade Antarctic

Open 1-2 m

Ice-Albedo Positive Feedback Loop How melting ice causes more ice to melt!

Effects of Rotation Coriolis Effect

Coriolis Effect Coriolis effect is the apparent deflection of

moving objects to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere

The deflection is caused by the differential speed of rotation between Earth’s equator and polar regions, relative to an object moving across the Earth’s surface.

Centrifugal force