AN AIR MASS IS A HUGE BODY OF AIR IN THE TROPOSPHERE, UP TO 2000KM IN DIAMETER, HAVING SIMILAR...
-
Upload
christal-reed -
Category
Documents
-
view
219 -
download
0
Transcript of AN AIR MASS IS A HUGE BODY OF AIR IN THE TROPOSPHERE, UP TO 2000KM IN DIAMETER, HAVING SIMILAR...
AN AIR MASS IS A HUGE BODY OF AIR IN THE TROPOSPHERE, UP TO 2000KM IN DIAMETER, HAVING SIMILAR PRESSURE, MOISTURE, WIND, AND TEMPERATURE, CHARACTERISTICS THROUGHOUT.
Aim: What is an air mass and what factors determine its characteristics?
Characteristics of Air masses
Air mass Origin Weather Condition
mT (maritime tropical)
mP (maritime Polar)
cT (continental tropical)
cP (continental Polar)
cA (continental Arctic)
Tropical seas, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and Gulf of Mexico
Warm and moist, cloudy, rain and thunderstorms.
Pacific and Atlantic Oceans near Polar regions
Cold and moist, cloudy, rain or snow
Desert areas of southwestern U.S and Mexico
Clear, hot, and dry
Canada and northward
Clear, cold, and dry
Ice- covered Arctic regions Very cold and dry
Air Masses:
• large bodies of air that have homogeneous physical properties (temp. and humidity)
• air masses formin areas of stagnant air flow, where they can remain long enough to acquirethe conditions of thatregion
• winter air mass patterns for North America
• summer air mass patterns for North America
• cP air massesare associated withfrigid winter temps.that affect theeastern 2/3 of NorthAmerica
BBC Canada
• typical weather map showing eastern 2/3 of North America dominated by a cP air mass (note: anticyclone)
• air mass symbols k and w are added when an air massmoves over a surface that is different from its source region
k—air mass is colder than the surface it is passing over often leads to instability
warmer
Colder
w—air mass is warmer than the surface it passes over may lead to stability, inversions, and fog
warmer
colder