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Temperature differences can cause air currents because warmer air is less dense than cooler air, causing the warmer air to appear "lighter." Thus, if the warm air is under the cool air, air currents will form as they exchange places. Air currents are caused because of the uneven heating of Earth's surface. [5] [6]
A Wind generated current is a flow in a body of water that is generated by wind friction on its surface. Wind can generate surface currents on water bodies of any size. The depth and strength of the current depend on the wind strength and duration, and on friction and viscosity losses, [1] but are limited to about 400 m depth by the mechanism, and to lesser depths where the water is shallower. [2]
Knowing the wind sampling average is important, as the value of a one-minute sustained wind is typically 14% greater than a ten-minute sustained wind. [16] A short burst of high speed wind is termed a wind gust ; one technical definition of a wind gust is: the maxima that exceed the lowest wind speed measured during a ten-minute time interval ...
The largest ocean current is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), a wind-driven current which flows clockwise uninterrupted around Antarctica. The ACC connects all the ocean basins together, and also provides a link between the atmosphere and the deep ocean due to the way water upwells and downwells on either side of it.
Idealised depiction (at equinox) of large-scale atmospheric circulation on Earth Long-term mean precipitation by month. Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air and together with ocean circulation is the means by which thermal energy is redistributed on the surface of the Earth. The Earth's atmospheric circulation varies from ...
The ability of a wind current to transport material, as measured by the maximum amount of detritus (e.g. silt, sand, and/or gravel) carried past a specific point per unit time. Capacity increases with wind speed and decreases as the particle size of the detrital debris increases. [1] capping inversion castellanus. Also castellatus.
In meteorology, prevailing wind in a region of the Earth's surface is a surface wind that blows predominantly from a particular direction. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on the Earth's surface at any given time.
Ships crossing both oceans have taken advantage of the ocean currents for centuries. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), or the West Wind Drift, is an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica. The ACC is the dominant circulation feature of the Southern Ocean and, at approximately 125 Sverdrups, the largest ocean current ...