Which Way The Winds Blow

The Earth's uneven heating is caused by its spherical shape, elliptical orbit, and tilt on its axis. Angled light rays have direct lighting on a small surface area, and then the light disperses as it goes on. Direct light rays are harsher and have an equal effect on the whole model. For example, we did an activity where we shined a flashlight on a globe where this happened. From the global wind patterns activity, I learned about how wind patterns affect the weather. The Earth's rotation causes air and water to move in certain patterns. During our activity, we spun a circular piece of paper to act as the Earth rotating and put droplets of water on it. The result was spirals of water. The coriolis  effect is an effect where a mass moving in a rotating system experiences the force acting perependicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation.A Hadley cell is a large-scale atmospheric convection cell in which air rises at the equator and sinks at medium latitudes, typically about 30° north or south.Most deserts are found at 30 degress N or S latitude because due to the Hadley cells and horse latitudes, the air is much more stable and there is less weather. Prevailing global wind patterns blow predominately from a single direction over a particular point on the Earth's surface. In the 18th century, England's merchants used the trade winds for trading routes. Doldrums can trap boats for days or weeks, because sometimes the winds can disappear altogether. Dry conditions of the horse latitudes cause the existence of temperate deserts. Columbus could have used the westerlies to travel toward the US. The global wind patterns activity helped me learn about the directions of the winds and how explorers can use them to their advantage. This affects the airline flight patterns in the US because they need to use the wind to their advantage and travel in the direction the winds are blowing. 

http://www.noao.edu/education/gsmt/weather

According to this article, winds could mask the effects of global warming.