INSIGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

Low Pressure Area
             A low-pressure area, low or depression, is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence which occur in upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as cyclogenesis. Within the field of atmospheric dynamics, areas of wind divergence aloft occur in two areas. The first area is on the east side of upper troughs which form half of a Rossby wave within the Westerlies (a trough with large wavelength which extends through the troposphere). A second area of wind divergence aloft occurs ahead of embedded shortwave troughs which are of smaller wavelength. Diverging winds aloft ahead of these troughs cause atmospheric lift within the troposphere below, which lowers surface pressures as upward motion partially counteracts the force of gravity.

• Today I learned that-- low pressure area is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is lower than that of surrounding locations
• i will apply my learnings about-- the occurrence of low pressure area.
• Learning about this phenomena is  important t because-- i will be aware about this phenomena and i can be ready if their will be a typhoon..
• On a larger scale, I will share my learnings about these phenomena to others-- so that not only me will be aware but also others.
• I need to know more about-- the effects of this phenomenon to my life.

El Nino
          El Nino, an abnormal warming of surface ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific, is one part of what's called the Southern Oscillation. The Southern Oscillation is the see-saw pattern of reversing surface air pressure between the eastern and western tropical Pacific; when the surface pressure is high in the eastern tropical Pacific it is low in the western tropical Pacific, and vice-versa. Because the ocean warming and pressure reversals are, for the most part, simultaneous, scientists call this phenomenon the El Nino/Southern Oscillation or ENSO for short. South American fisherman have given this phenomenon the name El Nino, which is Spanish for "The Christ Child" because it comes about the time of the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child-Christmas. 


          To really understand the effects of an El Nino event, compare the normal conditions of the Pacific region and then see what happens during El Nino below.

• Today I learned that El Niño/La Niña-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is a quasiperiodic climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years. The Southern Oscillation refers to variations in the temperature of the surface of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean (warming and cooling known as El Niño and La Niña respectively) and in air surface pressure in the tropical western Pacific. The two variations are coupled: the warm oceanic phase, El Niño, accompanies high air surface pressure in the western Pacific, while the cold phase, La Niña, accompanies low air surface pressure in the eastern Pacific.[2][3] Mechanisms that cause the oscillation remain under study while La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C. In the United States, an episode of La Niña is defined as a period of at least 5 months of La Niña conditions. The name La Niña originates from Spanish, meaning "the girl," analogous to El Niño meaning "the boy."
• I will apply my learnings about EL NIÑO and LA NIÑA in order for me to be aware about the effects of the EL NIÑO and LA NIÑA.
• Learning about EL NIÑO and LA NIÑA is important because I can be ready and prepared.
• On a larger scale I will share my learnings to others for them to know what my learnings about EL NIÑO and LA NIÑA.
•  I need to learn more about EL NIÑO and LA NIÑA because it is a phenomenon that affects everyone including ME. 

Tail-End of a Cold FrontA cold front is defined as the leading edge of a cooler mass of air, replacing (at ground level) a warmer mass of air, which lies within a fairly sharp surface trough of low pressure. It forms in the wake of an extra-tropical cyclone,at the leading edge of its cold air advection pattern, which is also known as the cyclone's dry conveyor belt circulation.


Tail-end of a Cold Front is a front boundary of 2 air masses, which is found in a middle latitude. It causes too much rainfall and cloudiness over affected areas.It is in a Northern portion of the country during the Northern Hemisphere in a winter season.


REVIEW: It is defined wherein the cooler mass of air used to replace the warmer mass of air, which results to a lower pressure in that surface. It is a phenomenon wherein it can experience a change in a temperature. Example of this is, when moisture is present in that place, rain can occur along the boundary. It also form a narrow line thunderstorm along the frontal zone.

• Today I learned that-- is a front boundary of 2 air masses, which is found in a middle latitude. It causes too much rainfall and cloudiness over affected areas.
• i will apply my learnings about-- the occurrence of tropical depression weather it will have rainy weather or not.
• Learning about this phenomena is  important t because-- i will be aware about this phenomena.
• On a larger scale, I will share my learnings about these phenomena to others-- so that not only me will be aware but also others.
• I need to know more about-- the effects of this phenomenon to my life.

Monsoon
Every summer, southern Asia and especially India, is drenched by rain that comes from moist air masses that move in from the Indian Ocean to the south. These rains, and the air masses that bring them, are known as monsoons.

However, the term monsoon refers not only to the summer rains but to the entire cycle that consists of both summer moist onshore winds and rain from the south as well as the offshore dry winter winds that blow from the continent to the Indian Ocean.

The Arabic word for season, mawsin, is the origin of the word monsoon due to their annual appearance. Although the precise cause of the monsoons is not fully understood, no one disputes that air pressure is one of the primary factors. In the summer, a high pressure area lies over the Indian Ocean while a low exists over the Asian continent. The air masses move from the high pressure over the ocean to the low over the continent, bringing moisture-laden air to south Asia.

During winter, the process is reversed and a low sits over the Indian Ocean while a high lies over the Tibetan plateau so air flows down the Himalaya and south to the ocean. The migration of trade winds and westerlies also contributes to the monsoons.

Smaller monsoons take place in equatorial Africa, northern Australia, and, to a lesser extent, in the southwestern United States.

Almost half of the world's population lives in areas affected by the monsoons of Asia and most of these people are subsistence farmers, so the coming and goings of the monsoon are vital to their livelihood to grow food to feed themselves. Too much or two little rain from the monsoon can mean disaster in the form of famine or flood.

The wet monsoons, which begins almost suddenly in June, are especially important to India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar (Burma). They are responsible for almost 90 percent of India's water supply. The rains usually last until September.

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
          The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is the region that circles the Earth, near the equator, where the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres come together. Also known by sailors as doldrums. It was originally identified from the 1920s to the 1940s as the Intertropical Front (ITF), but after the recognition in the 1940s and 1950s of the significance of wind field convergence in tropical weather production, the term "ITCZ" was then applied. When it lies near the equator, it is called the near-equatorial through. The ITCZ appears as a band of clouds, usually thunderstorms, that circle the globe near the equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the trade winds move in a southwestern direction from the northeast, while in the Southern Hemisphere, they move northwestward from the southeast.