meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

, air currents are concentrated areas of

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

s. They are mainly due to differences in

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

. They are divided into horizontal and vertical currents; both are present at mesoscale while horizontal ones dominate at

synoptic scale The synoptic scale in meteorology (also known as large scale or cyclonic scale) is a horizontal length scale of the order of 1000 kilometers (about 620 miles) or more. This corresponds to a horizontal scale typical of mid-latitude depressions (e. ...

. Air currents are not only found in the

troposphere The troposphere is the first and lowest layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, and contains 75% of the total mass of the planetary atmosphere, 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols, and is where most weather phenomena occur. From ...

, but extend to the

stratosphere The stratosphere () is the second layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is an atmospheric layer composed of stratified temperature layers, with the warm layers of air ...

and mesosphere.

Horizontal currents

A difference in air pressure causes an air displacement and generates the wind. The Coriolis Force deflects the air movement to the right in the northern hemisphere and the left in the southern one, which makes the winds parallel to the isobars on an elevation in pressure card. It's called the geostrophic wind. Pressure differences depend, in turn, on the average temperature in the air column. As the sun does not heat the Earth evenly, there is a temperature difference between the poles and the equator, creating air masses with more or less homogeneous temperature with latitude. Differences in atmospheric pressure are also at the origin of the general

atmospheric circulation Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air and together with ocean circulation is the means by which thermal energy is redistributed on the surface of the Earth. The Earth's atmospheric circulation varies from year to year, but t ...

while the air masses are separated by ribbons where temperature changes rapidly. These are the fronts. Along these areas, higher winds aloft form. These horizontal jets (jet streams) can reach speeds of several hundred kilometers per hour and can span thousands of kilometers in length, but can only have a few tens or hundreds of kilometers of width. On the surface, the friction due to the terrain and other obstacles (buildings, trees, etc.) may contribute to a slowdown and/or a wind deflection. Thus, a more turbulent wind in the atmospheric boundary layer. This wind can be channeled through narrows, like valleys. The wind will also be raised along the slopes of the mountains to give local air currents.

Vertical currents

Mechanically induced

In an air mass moving, vertical movements occur when there is

convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen *Convergence (comics), "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that ...

and

divergence In vector calculus, divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's source at each point. More technically, the divergence represents the volume density of t ...

at different levels of the atmosphere. For example, when we are near the

jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering thermal wind, air currents in the Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are west ...

, winds increase when approaching its most intense region and decreases when it moves away. So there are areas where the air accumulates and must come down, while in other areas there is a loss and an updraft from lower layers. These upward or downward flows will be relatively diffused. On the other hand, barriers such as mountains force air up or down, sometimes rapidly. As the barriers are very localized, these currents will affect very limited areas and therefore will form corridors.

Thermically induced

Thermals A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

are caused by local differences in

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

, or impurity concentration in the vertical. Temperature differences can cause air currents because warmer air is less

dense Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematically ...

than cooler air, causing the warmer air to appear "lighter." Thus, if the warm air is under the cool air, air currents will form as they exchange places. Air currents are caused because of the uneven heating of

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

's surface.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em Atmospheric dynamics

Horizontal currents

Vertical currents

Mechanically induced

Thermically induced

See also

References