GEO E111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Dew Point, Atmospheric Pressure, Smog
Document Summary
Factors influencing rainfall types and amounts: relief/topography. Relief features such as mountains and hills results in the rising and cooling of moist winds to form relief rainfall: aspect. Windward slopes which are on the path of rain bearing winds receive heavier rainfall than leeward slopes which face away: forests and water bodies. Areas near forests and large water bodies experience higher rainfall and more often due to high rate of evaporation: air pressure. High pressure areas receive low rainfall than low pressure areas due to pushing of air masses from high pressure to low pressure. The high pressure areas have descending dry air: air masses. When warm and cold air masses meet frontal rainfall is formed: ocean currents. It influences rainfall whereby coasts washed by warm ocean currents experience heavy rainfall when moist onshore winds are warmed by the current and made to hold on to moisture which they release on reaching the land.
