Answering the question of what air mass is, we can say that this is the human environment. We breathe it, see it, feel it daily. Without ambient air, humanity would not be able to conduct its life activities.
The role of flows in the natural cycle
What is air mass? This is a stream of air that brings a change in weather conditions. Due to the natural movement of the environment, rainfall moves thousands of kilometers across the globe. Snow and rain, cold and heat come according to established patterns. Scientists can predict climate change, delving deeper into the laws of natural disasters.
We will try to answer the question: what is air mass? Its bright examples include cyclones moving continuously. With them comes warming or cooling. They move with constant regularity, but in rare cases they deviate from the usual trajectory. As a result of such violations, cataclysms are found in nature.
So, in the desert, snow falls from the occurring cyclones of different temperatures or tornadoes, hurricanes are formed. This all refers to the answer to the question: what is air mass? Depends on its condition, what the weather will be like, air saturation with oxygen or moisture.
Change of heat and cold: reasons
Air masses are a major contributor to climate formation on earth. The heating of atmospheric layers is due to the energy received from the sun. Due to temperature changes, air density changes. More sparse areas are filled with dense volumes.
Air masses are a set of different states of gaseous layers of the atmosphere, depending on the redistribution of heat due to the change of day and night. In the dark, the air cools, a wind appears, moving from more dense layers to rarefied ones. The strength of the flow depends on the rate of decrease in temperature, terrain, humidity.
The movement of masses is affected by both horizontal and vertical temperature differences. In the afternoon, the earth receives heat from the sun, starting to give it to the lower layers of the atmosphere in the evening. This process lasts all night, and in the morning the water vapor is concentrated in the air. This causes precipitation: dew, rain, fog.
What are the gaseous states?
The characteristic of air masses is a quantitative quantity, with the help of which it is possible to describe certain states of gaseous layers and give them an estimate.
There are three main indicators of troposphere layers:
- Temperature provides information on the origin of mass displacement.
- Humidity increased in places located near the seas, lakes and rivers.
- Transparency is determined externally. This parameter is affected by particulate matter suspended in the air.
The following types of air masses are distinguished:
- Tropical - move towards temperate latitudes.
- Arctic - cold masses, moving towards warm latitudes from the northern part of the planet.
- Antarctic - cold, moving from the south pole.
- Moderate, on the contrary, warm air masses and move to the cold poles.
- Equatorial - the warmest, diverge in the area with a lower temperature.
Subtypes
When air masses move, they transform from one geographical type to another. There are subtypes: continental, marine. Accordingly, the former predominate from the land, the latter bring moisture from the expanses of the seas and oceans. The pattern of temperature difference in such masses is observed depending on the season: in summer, winds from land are much warmer, and in winter, sea winds.
Everywhere there are dominant air masses, constantly prevailing due to established laws. They determine the weather in a given area, and as a result, this leads to a difference in vegetation and wildlife. Recently, the transformation of air masses has changed significantly due to human activity.
The transformation of air masses is more pronounced on the coasts, where there are streams from land and sea. In some areas, the wind does not calm down even for a second. More often it is dry and does not change direction for a long time.
How is the transformation of flows in nature?
Air masses become visible under certain conditions. Examples of such phenomena are clouds, clouds, fogs. They can be located both at an altitude of thousands of kilometers, and directly above the ground. The latter are formed with a sharp decrease in ambient temperature from high humidity.
The sun plays an important role in the endless process of movement of air masses. The change of day and night leads to the fact that the streams rush up, lifting with them particles of water. High in the sky, they crystallize and begin to fall. In the summer season, when it is warm enough, the ice has time to melt in flight, so precipitation is mainly observed in the form of rain.
And in winter, when cold streams pass above the ground, it starts to snow or even hail. Therefore, in areas of equatorial and tropical latitudes, warm air spreads crystals. In the regions of the northern regions, these precipitations occur almost every day. Cold streams are heated from the heated earth's surface, the rays of the sun pass through the air layers. But the heat given off at night, becomes the cause of the formation of clouds, morning dew, fog.
How do certain signs recognize a change in weather?
Even in the past, they learned to predict precipitation by obvious signs:
- In the distance, cirrus clouds or white areas in the form of rays become barely noticeable.
- A sharp increase in wind indicates the approach of cold masses. It may rain, snow.
- Clouds always gather in low pressure areas. There is a sure way to define this area. To do this, turn your back to the stream and look a little to the left of the horizon. If thickenings appear there, then this is a clear sign of inclement weather. Do not confuse: the clouds on the right side are not a sign of worsening weather conditions.
- The appearance of a whitish shroud when the sun begins to fog.
The wind subsides when a cold area passes. Warmer streams fill the vacuum formed, often becomes stuffy after rain.