Form No: QF-08-CMS-004

WEST BAY COLLEGE Revision Date: November 24 2020

Ilaya St., Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Revision No. 0

Reference: QPR 8.4.2.7

Ebaldone, Kenneth Ryan C.

BSMT 3B Meteorology and Oceanography 1

WEEK 1 TOPIC/THE WIND AND PRESSURE OVER THE OCEAN

1. APPLIES PREVIOUS CONCEPTS TO A QUALITATIVE OF THE CAUSES OF MONSOON REGIMES.

Monsoon, a major wind system that seasonally reverses its direction—such as one that blows for approximately
six months from the northeast and six months from the southwest. The most prominent monsoons occur
in South Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific coast of Central America. Monsoonal tendencies also are
apparent along the Gulf Coast of the United States and in central Europe; however, true monsoons do not occur
in those regions.

The primary cause of monsoons is the difference between annual temperature trends over land and sea. The
apparent position of the Sun with reference to the Earth oscillates from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of
Capricorn. Thus the low pressure region created by solar heating also changes latitude.

2. APPLIES PREVIOUS CONCEPTS TO A QUALITATIVE OF THE WEATHER ASSOCIATED WITH THE JANUARY AND
JULY MONSOONS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN, CHINA SEA, NORTH COAST OF AUSTRALIA, WEST COAST OF AFRICA
AND THE NOTHERN COAST OF BRAZIL.

Indian monsoon, the most prominent of the world’s monsoon systems, which primarily affects India and its
surrounding water bodies. It blows from the northeast during cooler months and reverses direction to blow
from the southwest during the warmest months of the year. This process brings large amounts of rainfall to the
region during June and July.

At the Equator the area near India is unique in that dominant or frequent westerly winds occur at the surface
almost constantly throughout the year; the surface easterlies reach only to latitudes near 20° N in February,
and even then they have a very strong northerly component. They soon retreat northward, and drastic changes
take place in the upper-air circulation (see climate: Jet streams). This is a time of transition between the end of
 Form No: QF-08-CMS-004
WEST BAY COLLEGE Revision Date: November 24 2020
Ilaya St., Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Revision No. 0

Reference: QPR 8.4.2.7

one monsoon and the beginning of the next. Late in March the high-sun season reaches the Equator and moves
farther north. With it go atmospheric instability, convectional (that is, rising and turbulent)  clouds, and rain.
The westerly subtropical jet stream still controls the flow of air across northern India, and the surface winds are
northeasterlies.

China Sea monsoon, Using a Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model, we investigated the dynamic mechanism
of the South China Sea Warm Current (SCSWC) in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) during
winter monsoon relaxation. The model reproduces the mean surface circulation of the NSCS during winter, while
model-simulated subtidal currents generally capture its current pattern. The model shows that the current over
the continental shelf is generally southwestward, under a strong winter monsoon condition, but a
northeastward counter-wind current usually develops between 50-and 100-m isobaths, when
the monsoon relaxes. Model experiments, focusing on the wind relaxation process, show that sea level is
elevated in the northwestern South China Sea (SCS), related to the persistent northeasterly monsoon.
 Form No: QF-08-CMS-004
WEST BAY COLLEGE Revision Date: November 24 2020
Ilaya St., Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Revision No. 0

Reference: QPR 8.4.2.7

Following wind relaxation, a high sea level band builds up along the mid-shelf, and a northeastward current
develops, having an obvious vertical barotropic structure. Momentum balance analysis indicates that an along-
shelf pressure gradient provides the initial driving force for the SCSWC during the first few days following wind
relaxation. The SCSWC subsequently reaches a steady quasi-geostrophic balance in the cross-shelf direction,
mainly linked to sea level adjustment over the shelf. Lagrangian particle tracking experiments show that both
the southwestward coastal current and slope current contribute to the northeastward movement of the SCSWC
during winter monsoon relaxation.

North Coast of Australia, Because of its relatively small size and compact shape, Australia shows relatively
simple monsoonal patterns. The north shore is subject to a clear-cut wind reversal between summer
(November–April, northwesterly flow) and winter (May–September, southeasterly flow) but with two definite
limitations: first, the northwesterly, rain-bearing monsoonal wind is often held offshore and is most likely to
override the land to any depth during January and February; second, even in summer there often are prolonged
spells of southeasterly trade winds issuing from traveling anticyclones, separating the brief monsoonal
incursions. The Australian summer monsoon is thus typical in direction and weather type but quite imperfect in
frequency and persistence. Its thickness is usually less than 1,500 metres (4,900 feet) over the sea and 2,000–
2,500 metres (6,600–8,200 feet) over the land.

Much less typical are the marginal monsoonal manifestations. On the northwest coast there frequently is a
northwesterly airflow in the summer (December–March), as opposed to the winter southeasterlies, but this
stream is very shallow and does not bring any rain; that is, its weather is not monsoonal even though its
direction is so. On the northeast coast the onshore air is humid and brings rain, but its direction is only partly
modified in summer. Most of the summer winds that arrive there occur as a northeasterly flow, although at
other times the flow can be mostly southeasterly.
 Form No: QF-08-CMS-004
WEST BAY COLLEGE Revision Date: November 24 2020
Ilaya St., Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Revision No. 0

Reference: QPR 8.4.2.7

West Coast of Africa, a major wind system that affects West African regions between latitudes 9° and 20° N and
is characterized by winds that blow southwesterly during warmer months and northeasterly during cooler
months of the year. Although areas just outside of this region also experience wind reversals, the influence of
the monsoon declines with increasing distance.

The West African monsoon is the alternation of the southwesterly wind and the harmattan at the surface. Such
alternation is normally found between latitudes 9° and 20° N. Northeasterlies occur constantly farther north, but
only southwesterlies occur farther south. Except for erratic rains in the high-sun season (June–August), the
whole year is more or less dry at 20° N. The drought becomes shorter and less complete farther south. At 12° N
it lasts about half the year, and at 8° N it disappears completely. Farther south a different, lighter drought begins
to appear in the high-sun months when the monsoonal southwesterly is strongest. This drought results from the
arrival of dry surface air issuing from anticyclones formed beyond the Equator in the Southern Hemisphere and
is thus similar to the monsoonal drought in Java. Like the “break” of the monsoon in southern India, however, it
occurs beyond the Equator.
 Form No: QF-08-CMS-004
WEST BAY COLLEGE Revision Date: November 24 2020
Ilaya St., Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Revision No. 0

Reference: QPR 8.4.2.7

Northern Coast of Brazil, Brazil has a humid tropical and subtropical climate except for a drier area in the
Northeast, sometimes called the drought quadrilateral or drought polygon, that extends from northern Bahia to
the coast between Natal and São Luís; that zone receives about 15–30 inches (375–750 mm) of precipitation a
year. Much of Brazil receives 40–70 inches (1,000–1,800 mm) annually, but precipitation often is much heavier
in parts of the Amazon basin and the sea-facing rim of the Serra do Mar.

The central parts of the Brazilian Highlands receive most of their precipitation during the summer months
(November to April), often in the form of torrential downpours. Storms and floods may strike the Northeast at
that time, depending on weather patterns, but the region may also experience prolonged drought. These
shifting conditions make life difficult in the sertão, the backlands of the Northeast, and are a major cause for
migration out of the region. Summer temperatures are largely uniform. In January most of the lowlands average
roughly 79 °F (26 °C), and the highlands are a few degrees cooler, depending on elevation. The coast of  Rio
Grande do Sul is also somewhat cooler, averaging around 73 °F (23 °C), whereas the Northeast backland’s
drought quadrilateral, the hottest region of the country, averages some 84 °F (29 °C), with daytime
temperatures exceeding 100 °F (38 °C). However, the Northeast’s low humidity makes the heat less oppressive
than in Rio de Janeiro.
 Form No: QF-08-CMS-004
WEST BAY COLLEGE Revision Date: November 24 2020
Ilaya St., Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Revision No. 0

Reference: QPR 8.4.2.7

3. APPLIES THE CONCEPTS OF HORIZONTAL TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES TO A QUALITATIVE EXPLANATION OF

THE FORMATION OF LAND AND SEA BREEZES.

Land and sea breezes

Land and sea breezes are wind and weather phenomena associated with coastal areas. A land breeze is a breeze
blowing from land out toward a body of water. A sea breeze is a wind blowing from the water onto the land.
Land breezes and sea breezes arise because of differential heating between land and water surfaces. Land and
sea breezes can extend inland up to 100 mi (161 km), or manifest as local phenomena that quickly weaken with
a few hundred yards of the shoreline. On average, the weather and cloud effects of land and sea breezes
dissipate 20 -30 mi (32-48 km) inland from the coast.

Land and sea breeze patterns can greatly influence fog distribution and pollution accumulation or dispersion
over inland areas. Current research on land and sea breeze circulation patterns also include attempts to model
wind patterns that affect energy requirements (e.g., heating and cooling requirements) in affected areas as well
as impacts on weather dependent operations.

Because water has a much higher heat capacity that do sands or other crustal materials, for a given amount of
solar irradiation (insolation), water temperature will increase less than land temperature. Regardless of
temperature scale, during daytime, land temperatures might change by tens of degrees, while water
temperature change by less than half a degree. Conversely, water's high heat capacity prevents rapid changes in
water temperature at night and thus, while land temperatures may plummet tens of degrees, the water
temperature remains relatively stable. Moreover, the lower heat capacity of crustal materials often allows them
to cool below the nearby water temperature.

Air above the respective land and water surfaces is warmed or cooled by conduction with those surfaces. During
the day, the warmer land temperature results in a warmer and therefore, less dense and lighter air  mass above
the coast as compared with the adjacent air mass over the surface of water. As the warmer air rises
by convection, cooler air is drawn from the ocean to fill the void. The warmer air mass returns to sea at higher
levels to complete a convective cell. Accordingly, during the day, there is usually a cooling sea breeze blowing
from the ocean to the shore. Depending on the temperature differences and amount of uplifted air, sea breezes
may gust 15 to 20 miles per hour (13 to 17 knots ([nautical miles per hour]. The greater the temperature
differences between land and sea, the stronger the land breezes and sea breezes.

After sunset, the air mass above the coastal land quickly loses heat while the air mass above the water generally
remains much closer to its daytime temperature. When the air mass above the land becomes cooler than the air
mass over water, the wind direction and convective cell currents reverse and the land breeze blows from land
out to sea.

Because land breezes and sea breezes are localized weather patterns, they are frequently subsumed into or
overrun by large-scale weather systems. Regardless, winds will always follow the most
dominant pressure gradient.
 Form No: QF-08-CMS-004
WEST BAY COLLEGE Revision Date: November 24 2020
Ilaya St., Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Revision No. 0

Reference: QPR 8.4.2.7

The updraft of warm, moist air from the ocean often gives rise to daytime cloud development over the
shoreline. Glider pilots often take advantage of sea breezes to ride the thermal convective currents (sea breeze
soaring). Although most prevalent on the sea coastline, land breezes and sea breezes are also often recorded
near large bodies of water (e.g., the Great Lakes). In general, land breezes and sea breezes result in
elevated humidity levels, high precipitation, and temperature moderation in coastal areas.

4. DISCUSS THE FORMATION OF AN A BATIC AND KANABATIC WINDS.

Anabatic is an upslope wind formed when air on hill sides is heated by insolation conduction to a greater extent
than air at the same horizontal level but vertically above the valley floor. This cause convectional rising of the
heated air, which is replaced by cooler air form the valley floor

Katabatic is a local wind caused (often at night) by the flow of air, cooled by radiation, down mountain slopes
and valleys. It is also caused by the flow of cold air down the slopes of ice caps, such as Antarctica and
Greenland. It is caused by ground surface cooling as a result of radiation, which in turn cools the lower air
layers. With the rapid loss of heat by radiation, the mountain or ice-cap becomes cold, and the chilled air
moves downward under the action of gravity.
 Form No: QF-08-CMS-004
WEST BAY COLLEGE Revision Date: November 24 2020
Ilaya St., Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Revision No. 0

Reference: QPR 8.4.2.7

5. LIST THE REGIONS OF OCCURRENCE OF AN ABATIC AND KATABATIC WINDS.

Katabatic wind (is a drainage wind, a wind that carries high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under
the force of gravity. Such winds are sometimes also called fall winds; the spelling catabatic winds is also used.
Katabatic winds can rush down elevated slopes at hurricane speeds, but most are not that intense and many are
10 knots (18 km/h) or less.
Not all downslope winds are katabatic. For instance, winds such as the föhn and chinook are rain shadow winds
where air driven upslope on the windward side of a mountain range drops its moisture and descends leeward drier
and warmer. Examples of true katabatic winds include the bora in the Adriatic, the Bohemian Wind or Böhmwind in
the Ore Mountains, the Santa Ana in southern California, the piteraq winds of Greenland, and the oroshi in Japan.
Another example is "the Barber", an enhanced katabatic wind that blows over the town of  Greymouth in New
Zealand when there is a southeast flow over the South Island. "The Barber" has a local reputation for its coldness.

Anabatic wind these winds are sometimes called Mountain Winds as they occur most frequently in mountainous
areas, meteorologist call them Katabatic or Anabatic Winds.
Anabatic Winds are upslope winds driven by warmer surface temperatures on a mountain slope than the
surrounding air column. Katabatic winds are downslope winds created when the mountain surface is colder than
the surrounding air and creates a down slope wind. Katabatic wind may range over fairly large areas as in the case
of the Santa Anna winds experienced throughout southern California during certain times of the year. They can
produce winds to 80 miles per hour and dominate local weather patterns for extended periods of time (weeks). As
shown in figure 2.4 below, they are initiated when cold air atop higher land masses begins to flow downhill
(remember cold air is heavier than warm air) displacing the warm air below it and warming adiabatically and often
gaining speed in the process. When the lower elevations are hot desert areas the temperature differences can be
quite substantial on the order of 60 to 70 degrees F. The greater the temperature difference the stronger the wind.
They are often so well-known that they are given names like California’ Santa Anna as mentioned above, the
Chinook of the Pacific Northwest or the Fohn in Switzerland.

6. PROVIDES EXAMPLES OF LOCAL WINDS.

Local differences of temperature and pressure produce local winds. Such winds are local in extent and area
confined to the lowest levels of the troposphere. Some examples of local winds are discussed below.
 Form No: QF-08-CMS-004
WEST BAY COLLEGE Revision Date: November 24 2020
Ilaya St., Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Revision No. 0

Reference: QPR 8.4.2.7

Loo

 Harmful wind
 In the plains of the northern India and Pakistan, sometimes a very hot and dry wind blows from
the west in the months of May and June, usually in the afternoons. It is known as its
temperature invariably ranges.

Foehn or Fohn

 Beneficial wind
 Foehn is a hot wind of local importance in the Alphs. It is a strong, gusty, dry and warm wind
which develops on the leeward side of a mountain range. As the windward side takes away
whatever moisture there is in the incoming wind in the form of orographic precipitation, the air
that descends on the leeward side is dry and warm (Katabatic Wind)

Chinook

 Beneficial wind
 Foehn like winds in USA and Canada move down the west slopes of the Rockies and are known
as beneficial to ranchers of the Rockies as it keeps the grasslands clear of snow during much of
the winter.

Mistral

 Harmful wind
 Mistral is one of the local names given to such winds that blow from the Alps over France
towards the Mediterranean Sea.
 It is channeled through the Rhine valley. It is very cold and dry with a high speed.
 It brings blizzard into Southern France.

Sirocco

 Harmful wind
 Sirocco is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and reaches hurricane speeds in
North Africa and Southern Europe.
 It arises from a warm, dry, tropical air mass that is pulled northward by low-pressure cells
moving eastward across the Mediterranean Sea. With the wind originating in the Arabian or
Sahara deserts. The hotter, drier continental air mixes with the cooler, wetter air of the
maritime cyclone, and the counter-clockwise circulation of the low propels the mixed air across
the southern coasts of Europe.
 The Sirocco causes dusty dry conditions along the northern coast of Africa, storms in the
Mediterranean Sea, and cool wet weather in Europe.
 Form No: QF-08-CMS-004
WEST BAY COLLEGE Revision Date: November 24 2020
Ilaya St., Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Revision No. 0

Reference: QPR 8.4.2.7

Zonda

 Winter foehn (that is, a warm dry wind blowing down the side of a mountain) in Argentina,

where it blows from the west across the Andes Mountains.
 The name zonda in Argentina also refers to a hot humid wind that blows from the north over the
plains and precedes a low-pressure centre.

Pampero

 A burst of cold polar air from the west, southwest or south on the pampas in the south
of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia.
 This wind (often violently) picks up during the passage of a cold front of an active low passing by.
It takes the form of a squall line and there is a marked drop in temperature after its passing.
 The Pampero is most common at winter in the southern hemisphere (principally between May
and August). During the summers in the region around Buenos Aires, the pampero storms are a
welcome feature marking the end of long periods of high humidity and extreme heat.

Gregale

 Strong and cold wind that blows from the northeast in the western and central Mediterranean
region, mainly in winter.
 Most pronounced on the island of Malta, the gregale sometimes approaches hurricane force.
 A gregale that lasts four or five days is usually the result of a flow of air from central or southern
Europe toward Libya. One that lasts only one or two days is caused by the passage of a low-
pressure centre over the southern Mediterranean.

Bora

 Originally defined as a very strong cold wind that blows from the northeast onto the Adriatic
region of Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia.
 It is most common in winter and occurs when cold air crosses the mountains from the east and
descends to the coast; thus, it is commonly classified as a gravity (or katabatic) wind. It often
reaches speeds of more than 100 km (60 miles) per hour and has been known to knock people
down and overturn vehicles.
 The name bora is given to similar winds in other parts of Europe, including Bulgaria, the Black
Sea, and Novaya Zemlya in the Russian Arctic, and in the western United States along the
eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.