Atmospheric Pressure Essay

The air pressure on the Earth's surface is called atmospheric pressure

It decreases with the height and is changed due to the air movement in the atmosphere. It rises where the air accumulates and declines where the air moves. The main reason for the air moving is the heating and cooling of the underlying surface. When the underlying surface is heating, the air expands and goes up. Reaching the height, it spreads out in different directions. Therefore, the pressure on the warm surface decreases. However, at the same time it increases in neighboring areas, although the temperature is not changing there. Above the cold air the surface cools and condenses. Its density decreases above and the air from side can go there. The number of the cold surface increases, as the result the pressure on it increases as well. Simultaneously, the pressure is reduced without the temperature changes. At that point where the air came, the pressure is reduced without changing the temperature. The heating and cooling air from the surface is followed by its redistribution and changes in pressure (Hess 2010).

Type of assignment
Writer level
Number of pages
First order only

It is distinguished 6 main divisions of the global wind pattern, which influence the whole land and sea breezes. Thus, in equatorial latitudes the pressure is always low. This is because of the heated surface air which rises and goes toward tropical latitudes, creating an increased pressure there. Above the cold surfaces in the Arctic and Antarctica the pressure increased as well. It creates the air that comes from temperate latitudes in place with compacted cold air. The outflow of the air in the polar latitudes is the reason for the pressure drop in the temperate latitudes. As a result, the zones of low (equatorial and moderate) and high pressure (tropical and polar) are formed. Depending on the season they are shifted slightly toward the hemisphere where the summer time is. El Nino is the example of the divisions of the global wind pattern. It is believed that the occurrence of the flow is explained due to the irregular fluctuations of weather conditions on the globe (Maslin & Ettewin, 2011).

Week 4

The clouds are considered to classify by the conditions (causes) of their occurrence. In the classification of Bergeron it is distinguished three main genetic types of clouds: convectional, orographic and frontal. Orographic clouds should be specially highlighted. In the terms of morphology it can be called distinguished predominantly layered shaped, cumuliform and wavy clouds. The frontal rainfall can only increase orographic clouds. Convective precipitation may also increase above the heights due to the upward movement of the air over the slopes.

Convective clouds are formed in unstable air masses and are associated with intense convection and adiabatic cooling of rising air. These are cumulus or cumulonimbus clouds. In their upper part there are ice crystals. The bulk consists of water droplets. They have great power and vertical peaks that can reach a height of 15-20 km in tropical and equatorial latitudes. Orographic clouds are arising from weak turbulent transport of the water vapor up from the earth's surface in stable air masses, where at a certain height it contains the inversion layer temperature. The water vapor accumulates under. At the top the temperature starts rising and convection fades. Frontal clouds are formed at atmospheric fronts shared by different air masses. When warm air moves and displaces the cold - a warm and a cold air is moving and the heat recedes. This is a cold front. The front is always tilted relative to the Earth's surface, because cold air leaks under the warm as the wedge. International Classification of clouds includes 10 species: Cirrus, Sirrocumulus, Sirrostratus, Altocumulus, Altostratus, Stratus, Stratocumulus, Nimbostratus, Cumulus, and Cumulonimbus. According to the high distinction, there are the top tier - above 3-6 km, medium - 2 to 4-6 km and bottom tier - less than 3 miles. Cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds occupy the lower and middle tiers (Hess, 2010).

Week 5

Gaia theory is based on the hypothesis that there is the interaction of living matter with its environment. The author of biosphere "Gaia theory" British environmentalist James Lovelock argues that Earth, trying to preserve itself, can destroy humanity, which has a negative impact on nature. According to him Earth is a single organism, constantly evolving and striving for self-preservation, and is actively responding to the hurricanes, tsunamis, heat, frost and other climatic manifestations of the adverse effect on nature. Aggression breeds aggression. This truth has not been canceled. Those global changes that can be observed recently are the result of more global processes on Earth. The human factor affects the climate change, but does not define it. “Gaia makes much more sense if the stabilizing feedback loops were not blindly discovered, but were already available when the need for them arose. This would mean, for example, that the genes for cyanobacteria, for coral, and for animals with carbonate shells were already available when they were needed. Thus, the processes of oxygen accumulation, desalinization of seawater, and burial of carbon would have begun on this planet without delay. Cosmic ancestry would make comprehensible the existence of Gaian processes prior to the establishment of life on Earth” (Klyce). In the field of climate change, humanity has already passed the point of no return, and civilization is unlikely to survive, according to James Lovelock. The fact is that the system in the planet contains of myriad feedback mechanisms which acted together in the past and made Earth much cooler than it could be. However, now they are united. Increasing warming process resulted from the transport and industrial human activities through the issuance of such greenhouse gases as carbon dioxide. This means that the adverse influence of people, causing damage to the old regulatory system of the planet, is not linear, in other words – it will accelerate uncontrollably.

Week 6

La Niña (La Nina, “girl" in Spanish) is characterized by an abnormal decrease in the sea surface temperature in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. This process is the reverse of El Nino (El Nino, “Boy"), which is associated with the warming in the same area. These states follow each other at regular intervals for a year. El Niño and La Niña affect circuit circulation of ocean and atmospheric currents, which in turn, affects the weather and climate around the globe, causing drought in some regions, storms and heavy rains - in others. After a period of neutral cycle of El Niño - La Niña, observed in mid-2011, the tropical Pacific region in August, began to cool and from October it was observed La Nina weak and moderate strength (Rossenberg 2009).

Normal conditions along the west coast of Peru defined with cold Peruvian current, carrying water from the south. The tide is turning west along the equator, from the deep basins of cold water and there is a rise in plankton-rich waters, which promotes the development of an active life in the ocean. The very same cold flow determines arid climate in this part of Peru, creating deserts. The water temperature is from 29 - 30 ° C to 22 - 24 ° C along the coast of Peru. However, everything changes with the onset of El Niño. Trade winds weaken and the vast area of the Pacific Ocean experience an increase in the water temperature. In addition it is followed by a cold current moving from the west to the coast of Peru, warm water masses and the western desert winds bring in moist air masses and rainfall, causing floods. The onset of El Niño reduces the activity of Atlantic tropical cyclones. El Nino causes extreme weather conditions associated with the cycles of the frequency of epidemics. El Niño is associated with an increased risk of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes: malaria, dengue fever and Rift Valley fever. Cycles of malaria are associated with El Niño in India, Venezuela and Colombia. There is a correlation with outbreaks Australian Encephalitis, which manifests itself in the south-east Australia after heavy rains and floods caused by La Niña. This circulation was named after its discoverer, Sir Gilbert Walker (Impacts of El Nino and Benefits of El Nino Predictions). Harmonious unity between the ocean and the atmosphere begins to waver; this phenomenon is at present fairly well known. However still, the scientists cannot tell the exact cause of the El Niño phenomenon (Rossenberg 2009).

Week 7

Timely warning of El Niño helps people to prepare to the upcoming changes. For example, in Peru since 1983, El Niño has been informed in advance. Many farmers listened to these forecasts, and they decided to raise cattle and plant moisture-loving plants, and fishermen have switched from fishing to shrimping, appearing with the warming water. Accurate prediction and timely measures are taken to help to reduce the damage that El Niño causes to people's lives and the economy. In the year of El Nino weather is more difficult than usual. Therefore, in some broker markets meteorologists give forecasts of the development of El Niño (Impacts of El Nino and Benefits of El Nino Predictions). The main purpose is to gain a decisive advantage over the other exchanges, which only gives full ownership of information. It is important to know that a wheat crop in Australia will die due to the drought and the price of wheat will greatly rise. Another aspect is the economic pressure of work (and even congestion) of roofing companies in California. People, who live in hazardous areas, improve and strengthen their homes, especially roofs. This order flow fell into the hands of the construction industry. El Niño, with its disastrous consequences influence the economies of the Pacific Ocean, and, therefore, the global economy, as industrial countries are highly dependent on the supply of raw materials, such as fish, cocoa, coffee, grains culture, soybeans imported from South America, Australia, Indonesia and other countries. Thus, the main recommendation addressing the climate changes is to consider the forecasts and do everything to prevent the possible negative events (Rossenberg 2009).

Week 8

The terrestrial biomass generally increases from the poles to the equator, in the same direction increases the number of species of plants and animals. The nature of vegetation on the land primarily depends on the climatic conditions - thermal conditions, moisture and light. The fauna is closely related to the vegetation and climate characteristics, and therefore has zonal distribution as well. Main feature of all living organisms is a constant exchange with the environment. It takes the form of biological cycle, the essence of which is reduced to two opposing processes. According to the climatic conditions there are different types of soil: Sandy soil, Silty soil, Clay soil, Loamy soil, Peaty soil and Chalky soil. The most important factor is soil vegetation. Depending on the climatic conditions different plant formations are generated. Williams identified several plant formations: wood, meadow, steppe and desert; currently lichen-moss is more emitted. Green plants use the energy of sunlight, carbon dioxide, water and mineral salts that can form organic matter, involving a huge number of biological cycle batteries. Among the most important factors of soil formation there is the distribution of heat and moisture, so each natural area corresponds to the certain type of soil. Thus, the common red-yellow soil moist rainforest is formed under the influence of a significant amount of heat and moisture. Farther from the equator, they are changing to variable moisture red soil. Gray and brown desert soils are formed under the influence of excess heat and lack of moisture. They have virtually no humus. Further, under the influence of different ratios of heat and moisture, one after another, is gray forest etc. The most fertile soils in the world are black soil (Factors of Soils Formation). 

Related essays