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trade winds
trade winds are prevailing winds that blow steadily from the high-pressure zones. These occur in the horse latitudes that lie close to the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, between 25° and 30° both to the north and to the south of the equator, towards the doldrums now known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ. Intense solar heating at the equator causes the air to rise and this draws in the winds from the high-pressure regions. These winds are deflected by Coriolis forces so, instead of blowing directly from north or south, they blow from the north-east in the northern hemisphere and from the south-west in the southern hemisphere. During the age of sail, ships voyaging across the North Atlantic from east to west exploited the trade winds, with the return voyage following a more northerly route where the prevailing winds are south-westerly.
www.oar.noaa.gov/spotlite/archive/spot_ pacs.html M. V. Angel |
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"trade winds." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "trade winds." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-tradewinds.html "trade winds." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-tradewinds.html |
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trade winds
trade winds movement of air toward the equator, from the NE in the Northern Hemisphere and from the SE in the Southern Hemisphere. The trade winds originate on the equatorial sides of the horse latitudes , which are two belts of high air pressure, one lying between 25° and 30° north of the equator and the other lying between 25° and 30° south of it. The high air pressure in these belts forces air to move toward a belt of low air pressure along the equator called the doldrums . The air converging at the doldrums rises high over the earth, recirculates poleward, and sinks back toward the earth's surface in the region of the horse latitudes, thus completing a cycle. The air does not move directly north or south because it is deflected by the rotation of the earth. See wind ; Coriolis effect . |
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"trade winds." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "trade winds." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-tradewin.html "trade winds." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-tradewin.html |
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trade winds
trade winds Old maritime term, much used in meteorology, indicating the steadiness of direction of the prevailing tropical easterly winds, which blow from subtropical high-pressure areas in latitudes 30–40° north and south, generally north-easterly in the northern hemisphere and south-easterly in the southern hemisphere. They are most nearly constant in latitudes centred on 15° north and south. Climatic conditions associated with the belt vary from fine anticyclonic weather in the poleward and eastern margins, caused by subsidence, to stormier conditions near the equator and western margins, caused by less stable, deeper, moist air.
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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "trade winds." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "trade winds." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-tradewinds.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "trade winds." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-tradewinds.html |
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trade winds
trade winds An old maritime term, much used in meteorology to describe the prevailing tropical easterly winds, which blow in a steady direction from subtropical high-pressure areas in latitudes 30–40°N and S, generally north-easterly in the northern hemisphere and south-easterly in the southern hemisphere. They are most nearly constant in latitudes centred on 15°N and S. Climatic conditions associated with the belt vary from fine anticyclonic weather in the poleward and eastern margins, caused by subsidence, to stormier conditions near the equator and western margins, caused by less stable, deeper, moist air.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "trade winds." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "trade winds." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-tradewinds.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "trade winds." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-tradewinds.html |
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trade wind
trade wind / wind/ • n. a wind blowing steadily toward the equator from the northeast in the northern hemisphere or the southeast in the southern hemisphere, esp. at sea. Two belts of trade winds encircle the earth, blowing from the tropical high-pressure belts to the low-pressure zone at the equator. |
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"trade wind." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "trade wind." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-tradewind.html "trade wind." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-tradewind.html |
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trade winds
trade winds Steady wind that blows westwards towards the Equator from subtropical high pressure zones between latitudes 30° and 40° n and s.
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"trade winds." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "trade winds." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-tradewinds.html "trade winds." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-tradewinds.html |
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