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Pressure Gradient and Coriolis Effect
Name: Joseph
Status: N/A
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
What cause the Coriolis effect to occur? Why can't the
winds move in exactly the direction specified by the pressure gradient?
Replies:
Joseph,
The coriolis acceleration occurs when a particle is in motion over a rotating
surface, such as the turning Earth. This is complicated by the Earth being a
turning sphere. The rate of acceleration is proportional to the speed of the
particle and depends on the rotational speed of a plane through the latitude
where you are. The further north you are in the Northern Hemisphere, the
lower the rotational speed of that plane and thus the smaller the coriolis
acceleration.
The pressure-gradient force is the force that makes particles move from high
to low atmospheric pressure. If there were no other forces at work, the wind
would move from high to low pressure, perpendicular to the isobars.
The coriolis acceleration makes particles move towards the right in the
Northern Hemisphere, in other words from low to high pressure. Therefore the
coriolis acceleration would balance the pressure gradient force (if the Earth's
surface had no friction). This is referred to as the geostrophic balance and the
resulting wind would flow along the isobars. That wind is called the geostrophic
wind.
However, the friction of the Earth's surface slows the air movement and reduces
the effectiveness of the coriolis acceleration, thereby causing the wind to flow
slightly across the isobars from high to low pressure. This results in air
movement into a low pressure system (causing it to decrease in pressure) and
out of a high pressure system (causing it to expand and decrease in pressure).
So, you can see how important the various forces (pressure-gradient, coriolis,
frictional) are in producing the wind.
David R. Cook
Meteorologist
Climate Research Section
Environmental Science Division
Argonne National Laboratory
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Update: June 2012
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