What does it mean for a flow to be zonal?
Zonal flow is defined as west to east or east to west, while meridional flow indicates north-to-south or south-to-north air motion.
What causes zonal flow?
When the upper level winds are parallel or nearly parallel to the lines of latitude the wind pattern is termed zonal. When the winds cross the latitude lines at a sharp angle, the wind pattern is termed meridional. In a meridional pattern the jet stream will have highly amplified troughs and ridges.
What are zonal winds?
Zonal winds are winds circulating at the same latitude, parallel to the equator, thermalizing the atmosphere longitudinally.
What is zonal flow on Jupiter?
The east–west striped pattern of clouds in Jupiter’s weather layer is accompanied by a zonal flow containing 12 eastward-going jet streams alternating in latitude with westward-going jet streams.
What is zonal and meridional wind?
Zonal flow follows a pattern along latitudinal lines, latitudinal circles or in the west–east direction. Meridional flow follows a pattern from north to south, or from south to north, along the Earth’s longitude lines, longitudinal circles (meridian) or in the north–south direction.
What is zonal component?
Zonal component (direction and speed) of the mean surface wind averaged for all longitudes over the oceans (m/s). Negative values indicate easterly winds and positive values indicate westerly winds.
What is zonal and meridional winds?
What is meridional wind flow?
In short, meridional flow is induced by the vertical divergence in a zonal stress, which is initially imparted on the ocean by the wind, transmitted downward by transient eddies (as an interfacial form stress), and ultimately opposed by topographic form drag at the sea floor.
Is zonal wind a vector?
The wind vector can be expressed either in terms of orthogonal veocity components, where: u is the ZONAL VELOCITY, i.e. the component of the horizontal wind TOWARDS EAST. v is the MERIDIONAL VELOCITY, i.e. the component of the horizontal wind TOWARDS NORTH.
What is zonal velocity?
u is the ZONAL VELOCITY, i.e. the component of the horizontal wind TOWARDS EAST. v is the MERIDIONAL VELOCITY, i.e. the component of the horizontal wind TOWARDS NORTH. (the symbol w is used for the VERTICAL VELOCITY, which is typically +ve for an upward velocity). or as a wind speed, i.e. | vH |, and direction.
What wind direction is 90 degrees?
east
Meteorological wind direction is defined as the direction from which it originates. For example, a northerly wind blows from the north to the south. Wind direction is measured in degrees clockwise from due north. Hence, a wind coming from the south has a wind direction of 180 degrees; one from the east is 90 degrees.
What does SW wind mean?
In scientific and worldwide usage, wind direction is always stated as the direction from which the wind blows. For example, a south wind blows from the south to the north and a southwest wind blows from southwest to northeast. The National Weather Service and all U.S. media adhere to the international convention.
What is wind blowing from the south called?
A southerly wind is a wind that blows from the south.
What is a south wind called?
Words used in English to describe the south wind are auster, buster (a violent south gale), föhn/foehn (alps), gibli (Libya with various spellings), friagem (a cold south wind blowing into Brazil from the Antarctic), khamsin (a hot spring wind in Egypt, with various spellings), kona (stormy southwest wind in Hawaii).
What are zonal and meridional flow?
A zonal region on the globe Zonal and meridional flow are directions and regions of fluid flow on a globe. Zonal flow follows a pattern along latitudinal lines, latitudinal circles or in the west–east direction.
What does zonal mean in geography?
Definition of zonal 1 : of, relating to, affecting, or having the form of a zone a zonal boundary 2 : of, relating to, or being a soil or a major soil group marked by well-developed characteristics that are determined primarily by the action of climate and organisms (such as vegetation) — compare azonal, intrazonal
What is zonal flow aloft weather?
Recent Examples on the Web The meteorologist said a zonal flow aloft weather pattern, in which winds blow from the Pacific Ocean across the United States and off the Eastern Seaboard, would help mitigate the smoke in the area.
What determines the strength of the zonal flow?
The strength of the zonal flow is determined by the zonal index, which is the difference in average pressure of two latitude circles such as 35° and 55°. A high index thus represents strong zonal flow; a low index indicates weak zonal flow.