The Atmosphere notes

Almost all life and atmospheric processes depend on energy from the Sun. Earth receives only a tiny share of that energy, but it is enough to heat the atmosphere unequally. Unequal heating creates…

Global air circulation moves thermal energy, air, and moisture from equatorial regions with an energy surplus toward polar regions with an energy deficit. These patterns control much of Earth’s…

Wind speed, how long a wind blows, and the path it takes are controlled by two forces working together: the pressure gradient force and the Coriolis force. When those forces balance above the…

An air mass is a huge body of air with fairly uniform temperature and humidity. Where different air masses meet, a front forms. This section also covers regional and local winds: monsoons and…

Africa’s weather and climate are steered by the shifting ITCZ, subsidence under subtropical highs, and the contrasting influence of oceans and ocean currents. Temperatures stay high over most of the…

El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of a linked ocean–atmosphere swing in the tropical Pacific. They are not everyday local winds. They are large-scale changes in sea-surface temperature…

Drylands lack enough water for reliable farming and dense settlement. CAPS sorts them by decreasing dryness into hyper-arid, arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid subtypes. Two linked challenges hit…