ATOC 1050 Lecture 3: Week 3
8 Feb 2019
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Document Summary
Heat imbalance drives weather patterns; the inclination of earth"s axis drives seasons. The summer solstice occurs at the tropic of cancer (23. 5 degrees north latitude); most northern latitude that the sun will pass directly overhead on june 21st. The winter solstice occurs at the tropic of capricorn (23. 5 degrees south latitude); most southern latitude that the sun will pass directly overhead on december 21st. The autumn equinox (september 21st) and spring equinox (march 21st) occur when the sun passes directly overhead at the equator. As altitude increases, temperature decreases (during the day in the troposphere) Thermal - column of rising air created by the uneven heating of earth"s surface (form of atmospheric convection) In calm weather, thermals are small and not mixed. However, in windy weather, thermals are mixed by advection (horizontal winds), created a forced convection which drives down temperatures.
