Did you know that air has a specific temperature and a defined amount of water vapor over it? Yeah, and it varies from place to place, which directly influences our climate, explaining, many times, why it is hot or cold, dry or humid, among other factors. Therefore, it is important to understand the functioning of air masses.
What are Air Masses?
At air masses they are large volumes of atmospheric air with the same characteristics of temperature and humidity. These characteristics are in accordance with the region from which they arise, although they can change according to the As they move between different places on Earth and encounter the most distinct obstacles in their route.
The displacement of air masses obeys the general principle of the Earth's atmospheric circulation and always occurs from the areas of greatest atmospheric pressure (where the air, for some reason, is heavier or exerts a greater force on the surface) toward areas of lower atmospheric pressure. In this way, they promote greater interaction between the different types of climate.
Types of Air Masses
As we have already said, the characteristics of these masses depend on where they form. So, based on the region of origin, there are three different types of air masses, which are:
a) Polar masses: as the name implies, they originate in locations close to the north and south poles of the Earth. Therefore, they are obviously cooler. Polar masses that arise in continental areas are drier, and those that arise in oceanic areas are wetter.
b) Tropical Pasta: they arise in areas of low atmospheric pressure, in a position between the Earth's poles and the Equator. In general, these air masses are generally wetter, especially those coming from the southern hemisphere.
c) Equatorial masses: they are the air masses that arise near the equator. They are much warmer than other air masses and generally dry except when formed. in oceanic areas or in environments with a lot of vegetation, like what happens in the Forest Amazon.
By Me. Rodolfo Alves Pena
Take the opportunity to check out our video lesson on the subject:
