LAND AND SEA BREEZE
A sea breeze describes a wind that blows from the
ocean inland towards land. This breeze occurs most often in the spring and
summer months because of the greater temperature differences between the ocean
and nearby land, particularly in the afternoon when the land is at maximum
heating from the sun.
SEA BREEZE
During the day, the sun heats up both the ocean
surface and the land. Water is a good absorber of the energy from the sun. The
land absorbs much of the sun’s energy as well.
However, water heats up much more slowly than land and so the air above
the land will be warmer compared to the air over the ocean. The warm air over
the land will rise throughout the day, causing low pressure at the surface.
Over the water, high surface pressure will form because of the colder air. To
compensate, the air will sink over the ocean. The wind will blow from the
higher pressure over the water to lower pressure over the land causing the sea
breeze. The sea breeze strength will vary depending on the temperature
difference between the land and the ocean.
 |
| (source : google) |
LAND BREEZE
At night, the roles reverse. The air over the
ocean is now warmer than the air over the land. The land loses heat quickly
after the sun goes down and the air above it cools too. This can be compared to a blacktop road.
During the day, the blacktop road heats up and becomes very hot to walk on. At
night, however, the blacktop has given up the added heat and is cool to the
touch. The ocean, however, is able to hold onto this heat after the sun sets
and not lose it as easily. This causes the low surface pressure to shift to
over the ocean during the night and the high surface pressure to move over the
land. This causes a small temperature gradient between the ocean surface and
the nearby land at night and the wind will blow from the land to the ocean
creating the land breeze.
 |
| (source : google) |
The following image by be easier for you to understand:
 |
| (source : google) |
 |
| (source : google) |
Comments
Post a Comment