Table of Contents
How does air move when its temperature changes?
As the molecules heat and move faster, they are moving apart. So air, like most other substances, expands when heated and contracts when cooled. Because there is more space between the molecules, the air is less dense than the surrounding matter and the hot air floats upward.
How does temperature affect the movement of wind?
Wind caused by differences in temperature is known as convection or advection. In the atmosphere, convection transfers heat energy from warmer regions near the Earth’s surface to regions higher up in the atmosphere away from the heating influence of the Earth’s surface.
What causes air to move as it warms and cools?
Within the troposphere are convection cells (Figure below). Warm air rises, creating a low pressure zone; cool air sinks, creating a high pressure zone. Air that moves horizontally between high and low pressure zones makes wind. The greater the pressure difference between the pressure zones the faster the wind moves.
What happens when air becomes warm?
As air warms up, the molecules start to vibrate and bump into each other, increasing the space around each molecule. Because each molecule uses more space for motion, the air expands and becomes less dense (lighter). The amount of space the air takes up shrinks, or reduces the air pressure.
What is the movement of warm air?
Warm air rises, creating an upward-flowing limb of a convection cell (Figure 15.19). Upward flowing air lowers the air pressure of the area, forming a low pressure zone. The rising air sucks in air from the surrounding area, creating wind.
Why did changing the wind affect the air temperature?
The way the air moves affects the weather, because winds move heat and cold temperatures as well as moisture from one place to another, transporting conditions from one geographical zone to another. The way winds pass each other, and the direction they move, also affects what weather a region will see on any given day.
What happens cold air?
When a warm air mass meets a cold air mass, the warm air rises since it is lighter. At high altitude it cools, and the water vapor it contains condenses. On the other hand, when a cold air mass catches up with a warm air mass, the cold air slides under the warm air and pushes it upward.