Air Masses
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If the Earth did not rotate, air would sink south from the cold polar regions and rise north from the wamer tropics. But the Earth does rotate causing a curvature in the wind paths. The Coriolis effect explains the direction of movement of air masses. We demonstrated this in class using a marker and playground ball on a stick. |
| Symbol | Air Mass | Characteristics |
| cA | Continental arctic | Bitterly cold, dry |
| cP | Continental polar | Cold, dry |
| cT | Continental tropical | Hot, dry |
| mP | Maritime polar | Cool, moist |
| mT | Maritime tropical | Warm, moist |
You should know this because you live on the planet. in the northern hemisphere, air moves in a clockwise direction around high pressure and counterclockwise around low pressure. |
Challenge: Take an interactive quiz
Return to Living in Our Ocean of Air Task 3
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