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The wind and weather we experience are a consequence of horizontal pressure gradients. Weather is a dynamic process, since pressure drives the wind and the wind in turn alters the pressure distribution. This module discusses the different ways that the air responds to pressure gradients on a small scale and on a large scale, defines and explains geostrophic balance, and describes how to infer the large-scale wind pattern from maps of pressure or height.

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  1. To understand the causes of horizontal accelerations experienced by air parcels.
  2. To understand geostrophic balance.
  3. To understand how geostrophic balance is maintained.
  4. To understand how surface friction modifies geostrophic balance.
  5. To be able to infer wind patterns from large-scale pressure or height distributions.

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    Part I

  1. Review of Horizontal Forces
  2. The Sea Breeze, Part 1
  3. The Sea Breeze, Part 2
  4. Vertical Motion and Buoyancy
  5. Vertical Motion and Divergence
  6. Putting on the Brakes
  7. Friction
  8. Conclusion to Part I

    Part II

  9. The Coriolis Force
  10. Steady State Flow and Force Balance
  11. More Steady State Flow and Force Balance
  12. Geostrophic Balance
  13. Steady Surface Winds
  14. Summary

Part I

Part II

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Questions or Comments

Technical: E-mail John Fulton < jdfult@nimbus.met.tamu.edu >
Scientific: E-mail Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon. < nielsen@ariel.met.tamu.edu >

Copyright © 1996-2003 Texas A&M University, Texas A&M Atmospheric Sciences Department and Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon. All rights reserved.