Month: August 2015

For centuries sailors, explorers and voyagers of all ilks have relied on the trade winds.

When the trade winds arrive back at the equator, it closes the circle. The resulting pattern of wind is called a circulation cell. But this circulation cell at the equator isn’t the only one. The pattern repeats so that in total, there are 3 circulation cells in each hemisphere, making six.

The rising summer temperatures increase the energy in the atmosphere triggering violent stoems and tornadoes.

Thunderstorms can also give birth to an unexpected phenomenon, massive dust storms called haboobs. This one blew into to Phoenix, Arizona in 2011. Haboobs are produced in normally arid regions when the leading edge of the storm collapses, generating a super-fast downdraught that kicks up a wall of dust and sand in front of it.

The interaction between the Sun, the Moon and our planet’s rotation produce some extraordinary tidal bores every day.

Today’s tides are pretty impressive, but they were actually much, much bigger in the past. The evidence for that is just off the coast of Bermuda. understanding how the tides have changed gives us a surprising insight into the history of the Earth’s spin.

Despite it’s proximity to the sun and the tilt of the Earth in it’s favour, southern summers are cooler. Why?

The high heat capacity of the vast southern ocean keeps temperature low despite the effect of perihelion.

The transformation of water into a solid is the final link in the water distribution chain. Snow Storms are solid water.

Our orbit around the Sun exposes our planet to potentially deadly radiation. But the payoff is a big one, a planet where water can be distributed across the whole Earth, providing spectacular weather and making it habitable.

It is easy to discount the role of water turning to vapour to form clouds, then falling as rainfall over land.

These tropical storms are an extreme version of the familiar phenomenon. Rain. Rainfall is so familiar that it’s easy to forget what a critical role it plays on Earth.

The Earth’s orbit around rhe sun is elliptical and perihelion occurs when the planet is at it’s closest to the star.

And what is so astonishing about this is its location. This isn’t the only glacier in this region, not by a long way. And yet, we’re at 55° latitude south. If you go to the equivalent latitude in the North, 55° North, you get to the Lake District in England. Now, we all know that the Lake District is very pretty. But it hasn’t got one of those.

The temperature difference between land and sea powers the monsoon, the largest, single weather event on the planet.

The Lake Palace on Lake Pichola is a must-see attraction on every visitor’s itinerary.

The spring equinox at Chichen Itza is a special time when Kukulcan the snake appears to the Mayan people.

So, more than 1,000 years ago the Maya recognise equinox as a pivotal moment in the year and they were able to align this pyramid with the sun’s annual progress, causing the snake, Kukulcan, to appear each equinox.

Ice Road Truckers in Yellowknife rely on the seasonal paradox of winter being delayed to maintain their frozen lake roads.

So why is the worst of winter delayed so long after the solstice on December 21st? It’s all about the balance between the heat coming in and the heating going out.