11.1: Atmospheric Circulation

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Page ID: 55234

Robert Wagner
HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College

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This section explains how differences in atmospheric pressure, combined with Earth’s rotation and surface friction, produce winds and organize atmospheric circulation. It introduces the major forces that affect wind speed and direction and examines how these forces interact to produce characteristic wind patterns. These ideas are then applied to local winds, global circulation, and upper-level winds such as the jet streams.

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