2007-03-09 22:52:25 · 9 answers · asked by kenny_burnet 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Wind is the rough horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by uneven heating of the Earth's surface. It occurs at all scales, from local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting tens of minutes to global winds resulting from solar heating of the Earth. The two major influences on the atmospheric circulation are the differential heating between the equator and the poles, and the rotation of the planet (Coriolis effect).
Given a difference in barometric pressure between two air masses, a wind will arise between the two which tends to flow from the area of high pressure to the area of low pressure until the two air masses are at the same pressure, although these flows will be modified by the Coriolis effect in the extratropics.
2007-03-09 22:57:55 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The atmosphere surrounds the Earth.
The inner part of the atmosphere is called the troposphere. The troposphere is about 10 km high and consists of air.
There is more air close to the Earth than farther away. 8-10 km away from the Earth there is so little air that people have trouble breathing. There are two main causes for wind. One is that the Earth is always revolving around its own axis.
If you were to imagine that the troposphere – that is the air – stood still, you would feel the air as wind when the Earth was revolving. Luckily the air in the lowest couple of hundred metres follows the rotation of the Earth, so it is not as windy as it would be if the air stood completely still.
The other cause for wind is the fact that the sun does not heat the Earth evenly. You can see that the sunrays cover a much greater area at the poles than at the equator. That is why at the equator 1 square metre of surface will be heated a lot more than at the poles. The warm air rises from the equator and floats towards the poles. This makes room for cold winds from the north and south to blow towards the equator.
Summing up, the wind we feel is caused by two things:
1) The rotation of the Earth
2) The differences in temperatures on the Earth
2007-03-10 15:53:04 · answer #2 · answered by Mystic Magic 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wind is the movement of our atmosphere. This movement is caused by many factors.
#1 is gravity. Gravity keeps the air close to the earth's surface. The earth spins faster at the core where heavy elements are concentrated. At the surface of the earth, solids and liquids and gasses collide. If you have ever been to the beach you have felt this wind.
#2 is heat. As air warms up it becomes more active. This active air is lighter and tends to move upwards. As it cools, it moves down. If you've ever seen a hot air balloon float, then you see how that works.
#3 is when air gets pushed. Sometimes, mountains and valleys or even tall buildings block the air from where it would normally go. The air gets pushed out of its path by these things and a strong wind is generated. In the same way, if you stand in front of a fan...the blades push the air at you and wind is created.
There are many other things that can cause wind but these are the most noticeable.
2007-03-10 07:13:57 · answer #3 · answered by erathossd 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Winds originate on 30 degrees north and south latitudes.
They originate due to un equal heating of the sun. the rays of sun fall vertically over the equate creating a low pressure there, the air on higher latitude(30 degrees N and S) thus move towards equater causing wind. these are merely added by centrifuegal force applied due to rotation of the Earth.
2007-03-10 07:02:06 · answer #4 · answered by Shine 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wind is the rough horizontal movement of air caused by uneven heating of the Earth's surface. It occurs at all locations, from local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting tens of minutes to global winds resulting from Earth's heating from SUN. The two major influences on the atmospheric circulation are the differential heating between the equator and the poles, and the rotation of the planet.
2007-03-10 07:05:54 · answer #5 · answered by Nagaraja M. D 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
winds originate where there is a sort of gap in the atmosphere and the air sort of blows into it
2007-03-11 04:33:27 · answer #6 · answered by Bryn 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
expansion of the atmosphere by heat from the suns rays and cooling by night
2007-03-12 17:20:17 · answer #7 · answered by ray j 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They occur due to differences in air pressure.
2007-03-10 09:12:35 · answer #8 · answered by cloudprincess92 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In your bottom due to gas, hee hee.
2007-03-10 06:56:53 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋