What is a cyclone definition. What is a cyclone? Tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere
There are many assumptions about how the world came into being. Since ancient times, this has worried the minds of people. Georges Buffon was among the first to present a hypothesis about the emergence of the human world. At the same time, he opened the door for the further development of humanity.
Georges Buffon: hypothesis of the origin of the Earth
The scientist was born in France. He studied biology and mathematics. In his book “Natural History” he presented his own vision of the origin of the world. The Frenchman Georges Buffon made a significant contribution to biology. Brief information from his hypothesis:
- The familiar solar system did not exist before.
- One day, a large comet collided with the Sun. After this, a lot of solar matter was ejected. There was a kind of explosion.
- These substances were broken into a large number of parts, and planets were formed from them.
According to this man's theory, there were very hot celestial bodies in space that were formed as a result of the explosion. As soon as they cooled down, life began to emerge on planet Earth. However, this took a very long time.
Hypothesis Details
This man did not put forward theories about the origin of the Sun or comets. He only wondered how the world of humanity came into being. The essence of Georges Buffon's hypothesis describes this process as a large collision of a comet and the Sun. This man believed that large meteorites did not belong to the solar system. In his opinion, solid bodies are the Sun and comets, but this is incorrect. Georges Buffon believed that due to the collision of comets, the burning star began to rotate, and its parts formed planets orbiting around it. As a result, according to the theory, celestial bodies move in the direction that can be observed now. Thus, Georges Buffon explained the origin of the planets. They all broke away from the Sun. However, humanity now knows that this hypothesis is incorrect. Thanks to his theory, he made a significant contribution to the development of science.
How did planets have satellites?
This outstanding man suggested the appearance of almost all celestial bodies in the Universe. Satellites appeared when the planets rotated around their axis very quickly and were in a liquid state. Due to the high speed of rotation, particles were separated from celestial bodies and these large stars were formed from them.
If you pay attention to the many theories after this man, you will notice that scientists have been building on his hypothesis for a long time. Georges Buffon created an idea that has long appeared in other cosmological proposals about the origin of the world.
What mistakes did he make?
Some people may think the answer is obvious. It is quite easy for contemporaries to talk about this, knowing that a burning star is not at all solid. Comets, on the other hand, have a very small mass, which makes it almost impossible for them to influence the Sun, much less break off several parts from it. If you believe modern hypotheses, then the big star was never in a molten state. This information allows us to crush Buffon's hypothesis. In addition, the parts that broke away from the Sun had to inevitably return. Also, the movement of planets after such a huge impact is unrealistic. Because of this, after a short period of time this assumption was questioned. And Pierre Simon Lapal criticized him completely, which is why the hypothesis was eliminated from the scientific world.
The most current hypothesis
In the scientific community, debates about the origin of the world are still ongoing. However, many scientists believe that the Kant-Laplace theory can be considered the most truthful. It says that at the very beginning there was only a gas cloud that revolved around the core. These matters attracted each other, and gradually the gas-foggy clot formed into a disk. Due to the fact that the gas was uneven, rings appeared. They separated after some time. After the clump cooled, planets formed and the rings turned into satellites. The sun is the only clot that exists now and has not cooled down. This theory was named so because of the people who first put it forward. Gradually, scientists are studying space, which allows them to discover more and more new features of the origin of planets. Experts believe that the hypothesis is still poorly substantiated, but its contribution to the development of the science of astronomy is very high.
The content of the article:
The weather on our planet is determined by certain atmospheric formations. Modern man is so structured that he is accustomed to planning his affairs regardless of weather conditions, but entire areas of his activity are completely dependent on the weather situation. According to modern meteorologists, rainy weather is brought by cyclones. What is a cyclone and what is its nature?
Modern ideas about the cyclone
A cyclone is a huge atmospheric vortex, a kind of very large funnel. Its size is determined by the diameter - from hundreds to thousands of hundreds of kilometers. It is formed due to the action of the so-called Coriolis forces. The formation of such a vortex occurs when a humid and warm tropical air mass collides with a dry and cool Arctic air mass. The latter is slightly displaced by warm air currents, and they, in turn, begin to rotate along an elliptical trajectory - this is how a vortex is obtained. As it moves, it increases in size by capturing nearby air layers.
If you look at a schematic representation of a cyclone, you can see a low pressure area inside, and a high pressure area closer to the periphery. Therefore, the air in such a formation will move from outside to inside - a huge funnel is formed, which moves at a speed of over fifty kilometers per hour.
What types of cyclones are there?
Climatologists and meteorologists believe that there are two main types:
- tropical
- extratropical.
The first form in tropical latitudes, are relatively small in size, but bring with them strong, sometimes hurricane-force, winds and precipitation. Extratropical ones often form in northern and temperate latitudes. They are larger in size than tropical ones (up to several thousand kilometers), but the speed of air movement in them is much less. The so-called southern extratropical cyclones have the greatest energy among this type. It is with their arrival that heavy rains, winds, and thunderstorms begin in a certain area.
Cyclones on other planets
Since most planets in our Solar System have an atmosphere, atmospheric vortices similar to those on Earth are often recorded. For example, in the atmosphere of Venus, scientists often record storms over the south pole, and artificial satellites have repeatedly transmitted images of cyclones from this planet. A long-lived giant cyclone was recorded in the atmosphere of Jupiter.
Its study is part of the program of the Juno station, which recently reached this planet.
We often hear the word “cyclone” in the weather news, but most of us have no idea what it is. In the understanding of many people, the term “cyclone” refers to some abstract phenomenon, something like moving weather masses, but a cyclone is a rather interesting phenomenon on planet Earth, and you will probably be interested in learning more about it. Next, in simple words, so that it becomes clear to most readers, we will explain what a cyclone is, where it comes from, what it is and what changes in the weather it causes.
There are two terms for opposing weather phenomena - cyclone and. It’s quite easy to remember what weather changes they cause: cyclone - strong wind, rain, thunderstorms, bad weather; anticyclone - calm, cloudless and clear weather. Now, having heard in the weather forecast on television that a cyclone or anticyclone is approaching, you will know what awaits you in the near future. However, definitions alone are not enough. It is interesting to know what it is and what its nature is.
Cyclone and anticyclone are zones with low and high air pressure. A cyclone is a huge atmospheric vortex with low atmospheric pressure. In the center of such a formation, the pressure is much lower than at the periphery. The diameter of such a vortex can range from hundreds to several thousand kilometers. It is impossible to see a cyclone, such as a tornado, which is also a whirlwind. However, air cyclone vortices are very clearly observed from space. The air in cyclones circulates in a circle around the vortex axis. Also in cyclones, air creates upward currents, since the air mass moves not only in a circle, but also rises. When we are inside a cyclone, we feel the wind. It seems straight to us, but in reality it moves in a circle.
Where do cyclones come from? Cyclones occur for natural reasons, due to the rotation of the Earth. Since the planet is constantly spinning, zones with high or low pressure appear in the atmosphere, which form giant vortices of air masses that do not just stand still, but move along the surface of the planet, changing the weather conditions in the places where they find themselves.
The closer to the center of the cyclone, the lower the pressure and the faster the wind gusts become, and, accordingly, the further from the center, the slower the winds and the higher the pressure. It is also interesting to know that in the northern hemisphere the wind in cyclones circulates counterclockwise, and in the southern hemisphere, on the contrary, clockwise. Because cyclones in the northern hemisphere rotate counterclockwise, subject to a special force also known as the Coriolis force, cyclones constantly tend to deviate to the right. In the Southern Hemisphere, exactly the opposite happens.
The life of a cyclone can last several days. However, the dimensions, which often reach several thousand kilometers, as well as the fast speed (30-60 km/h), are capable of carrying a cyclone over vast distances in just a few days.
Cyclones are divided into extratropical (formed in extratropical latitudes) and tropical. Extratropical ones are characterized by their enormous size and can be 2-3 thousand kilometers across, but extratropical ones are not as strong as those that arise in tropical latitudes. Occurring in tropical latitudes, above the warm sea surface, cyclones become very powerful and sometimes extremely destructive. Tropical cyclones are called typhoons and hurricanes. They are accompanied by strong gusts of wind - storms, showers and thunderstorms.
Cyclones are not the most favorable conditions for.
Then the air flow rapidly turns into a powerful whirlwind, the wind speed increases significantly and penetrates into the upper layers of the atmosphere. The cyclone captures the adjacent layers of air, drawing them in at a speed of up to 50 km/h. At distant fronts, greater speed is achieved than at the center. During this period, due to low pressure, a sharp change in weather occurs.
A developed cyclone enters the fourth stage and lasts for four days or more. The cloud vortex closes in the center and then moves to the periphery. At this stage, the speed decreases and heavy precipitation occurs.
The cyclone phenomenon is characterized by a lack of air. To replenish it, cold currents arrive. They push warm air upward. It cools down and the water condenses.
Clouds appear from which heavy precipitation falls. This is what a cyclone is, and why the weather changes dramatically when it occurs.
Types of cyclones
The duration of the vortex ranges from several days to weeks. In an area of low pressure it can last up to a year (for example, the Icelandic or Aleutian cyclone). In terms of their origin, the types of cyclones differ depending on the place of their origin:
- eddies in temperate latitudes
- tropical vortex
- equatorial
- arctic
Mass movement is constantly occurring in the Earth's atmosphere. Vortexes of various sizes are constantly being destroyed in it. Warm and cold air currents collide at temperate latitudes and form areas of high and low pressure, which leads to the formation of vortices.
A tropical cyclone poses a great danger. It is formed where the ocean surface temperature is at least twenty-six degrees. Increased evaporation increases humidity. As a result, vertical air masses rush upward.
With a strong gust, new volumes of air are captured. They have already warmed up enough and become wet above the surface of the ocean. Rotating at great speed, air currents turn into hurricanes of destructive force. Of course, not every tropical cyclone causes destruction. When they move to land, they quickly calm down.
Movement speed in different stages
- movement not exceeding 17 m/s is characterized as disturbance
- at 17-20 m/s there is some depression
- when the center reaches a speed of 38 m/s, a storm is approaching
- when the forward motion of a cyclone exceeds 39 m/s, a hurricane is observed
The center of the cyclone is dominated by an area of calm weather. A warmer temperature is formed inside than in the rest of the air flow, and less humidity is observed. The tropical cyclone is the southernmost, characterized by its smaller size and higher wind speed.
For convenience, the phenomena of anticyclones and cyclones were first called numbers, letters, etc. Now they have received female and male names. When exchanging information, this does not create confusion and reduces the number of errors in forecasts. Each name contains certain data.
The phenomena of anticyclone and cyclone that form over the ocean differ in their properties from those that arose over the mainland. Marine air masses are warm in winter and cold in summer compared to continental air.
Tropical cyclones
Tropical cyclones mainly affect areas of the southeastern coast of Asia, the eastern part of the island of Madagascar, the Antilles, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. More than seventy powerful cyclones are observed per year.
They are called differently, depending on the place of origin:
- North and Central America - hurricane
- West coast of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean - cordonazo
- East Asia - typhoon
- Philippines - Baruyo/Baguio
- Australia - Willy Willy
The properties of temperate, tropical, equatorial and arctic air masses are easy to determine by name. Each tropical cyclone has its own name, for example, "Sarah", "Flora", "Nancy", etc.
Conclusion
Vertical-horizontal movements of air masses move in space. The atmosphere is an ocean of air, the winds are its current. Their boundless energy transports heat and moisture across all latitudes, from the oceans to the continents and back. Moisture and heat on Earth are redistributed due to the constant movement of air masses.
If there were no phenomenon of anticyclones and cyclones, then the temperature at the poles would be lower, and at the equator it would be hotter.
The phenomenon of anticyclone and cyclone is a powerful force that can destroy, deposit and transport rock particles from one place to another.
At first, the wind powered the mills where they ground grain. On sailing ships he helped to overcome long distances of seas and oceans. Later, wind engines appeared, with the help of which people receive electricity.
Cyclone and anticyclone are a natural “mechanism” that transports air masses and influences weather changes. By delving deeper into the mysteries of what cyclones and anticyclones are, perhaps people will learn to use these natural phenomena with maximum benefit and benefit for humanity.
Anticyclone
The Hydrometeorological Center of Russia has decided to give names to cyclones, anticyclones and other weather systems with high intensity and increased risk operating on the territory of the Russian Federation.
According to the weather service, every Russian who wishes will be able to participate in the selection of names.
The hydrometeorological center believes that a single authoritative system for naming weather systems (cyclones, anticyclones) that affect the weather and can cause dangerous weather phenomena when it is necessary to issue appropriate storm warnings can operate on the territory of the Russian Federation.
For example, in Germany, for the second decade, names have been given to cyclones and anticyclones, including the cyclones Godard, Edwin, and Kirill.
Australian meteorologist Clement Wragg named typhoons after members of parliament who refused to vote for credits for weather research.
During World War II, U.S. Air Force and Navy meteorologists monitored typhoons in the Pacific Northwest and named the typhoons after their wives or girlfriends. It is not yet known by what principle natural phenomena in Russia will be named.
Svetlana Suvorina, "Investor School".
What else?
Have you ever seen huge atmospheric vortices?
Zones of high and low pressure can form large atmospheric eddies, which are called cyclones and anticyclones. These atmospheric vortices are usually formed when powerful air currents collide.
Let's imagine this picture. A powerful air current passes along the western coast of Africa. At a certain point, the coastline turns sharply to the right, but the stream continues its path in the same direction.
In the open sea, he encounters another atmospheric current, which moves against him, along the northern coast of Africa. The Nord Stream begins to bend, experiencing strong pressure from the outside. And the southern current, moving along the formed trench, begins to turn in a circle and turn into an atmospheric vortex.
A cyclone usually brings with it bad weather because the atmospheric pressure inside it is lower than outside. It pulls the clouds into itself. In an anticyclone the opposite is true. The pressure in its center is higher than on the outside.
Cyclones and anticyclones
Therefore, clouds do not fall into the middle of the anticyclone.
But it would be wrong to think that in the entire cyclone area the entire sky is overcast and it rains continuously. If you look at the cyclone from above, from space, it turns out that the cloudiness inside this giant vortex is distributed in the form of elongated oval stripes that tend to the center of the cyclone. These cloudy areas are called atmospheric fronts. Usually, after the appearance of one cyclone, others are formed. There can be up to 5 vortices in total.
The average speed of cyclones is 30...40 kilometers per hour, and sometimes they accelerate to 100 kilometers per hour. These vortices are so huge that their diameter often reaches 1500-2000 kilometers.
CYCLONE (Greek kyklon - rotating) is an area of low atmospheric pressure that appears in a warm air mass when it collides with a cold one, that is, when an atmospheric front appears. When the front boundary is uneven, dense cold air in some area pushes some of the warm air back. Turning back and opposing the general movement of the warm air mass, this part, with an increase in atmospheric pressure, is forced to deviate to the side and swirl. An ellipsoidal rotation of air, compacted along the periphery, occurs in the internal part with an increased temperature. This vortex covers the entire frontal part of the warm air mass, gradually drawing it all into rotation. The cyclone moves at a speed of 30-50 km/h, in most cases from west to east, according to the rotation of the Earth. In the Northern Hemisphere, its rotation occurs counterclockwise, and in the southern hemisphere, in its direction. It takes from several days to several weeks until the cyclone completely collapses. The diameter of the cyclone is usually 1000-2000 km, and the height is from 2 to 20 km.
When a cyclone occurs, the weather changes dramatically. The wind is increasing because there is low pressure in the center of the cyclone and, therefore, winds will blow here. A cyclone is necessarily accompanied by the formation of clouds and precipitation. This is explained by the fact that in its center the air is warm, and the surrounding cold air tries to suppress it. The ring of cold contracts, displacing warm air upward, where it cools, water vapor condenses into water droplets, clouds form, and precipitation falls. Cyclones usually occur in a year up to several hundred, and they become the main link in the general circulation of the atmosphere, most often in polar and temperate latitudes. Originating above the ocean, thanks to the low atmospheric pressure in the central part, cyclones contribute to the rise of deep cool waters to the surface, and therefore their enrichment with plankton.
The greatest influence on the climate of Russia is exerted by cyclones originating over the North Atlantic. Thanks to the constant influx of warm waters of the North Atlantic Current, marine moderate air masses are formed here and a low pressure area is maintained - the so-called Icelandic Low. Cyclones constantly form along its outskirts.
What is a cyclone and anticyclone?
They are transferred from west to east over Europe and even penetrate into Western Siberia. The effects of these cyclones are felt throughout the northern East European Plain. They fade out only on the Taimyr Peninsula. The passage of these cyclones causes cloudy, rainy weather, mitigating the heat in summer and the cold in winter.
Eastern Russia is under the influence of the Aleutian minimum, which appears only in winter. It causes intense cyclones with heavy snowfalls and winds in Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands.
Some time ago, before the advent of meteorological satellites, scientists could not even think that about one hundred and fifty cyclones and sixty anticyclones form in the Earth’s atmosphere every year. Previously, many cyclones were unknown because they occurred in places where there were no meteorological stations that could record their occurrence.
In the troposphere, the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere, vortices constantly appear, develop and disappear. Some of them are so small and unnoticeable that they pass by our attention, others are so large-scale and influence the Earth’s climate so much that they cannot be ignored (primarily this applies to cyclones and anticyclones).
Cyclones are areas of low pressure in the Earth's atmosphere, in the center of which the pressure is much lower than at the periphery. An anticyclone, on the contrary, is an area of high pressure that reaches its highest levels in the center. While over the northern hemisphere, cyclones move counterclockwise and, obeying the Coriolis force, try to move to the right. While the anticyclone moves clockwise in the atmosphere and deviates to the left (in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth everything happens the other way around).
Despite the fact that cyclones and anticyclones are absolutely opposite vortices in their essence, they are strongly interconnected with each other: when pressure decreases in one region of the Earth, its increase is necessarily recorded in another. Also, cyclones and anticyclones have a common mechanism that causes air currents to move: non-uniform heating of different parts of the surface and the rotation of our planet around its axis.
Cyclones are characterized by cloudy, rainy weather with strong gusts of wind that arise due to the difference in atmospheric pressure between the center of the cyclone and its edges.
An anticyclone, on the contrary, in summer is characterized by hot, windless, partly cloudy weather with very little precipitation, while in winter it causes clear but very cold weather.
Cyclones (gr. “snake ring”) are huge vortices, the diameter of which can often reach several thousand kilometers. They are formed in temperate and polar latitudes, when warm air masses from the equator collide with dry, cold currents moving towards them from the Arctic (Antarctica) and form a boundary between themselves, which is called an atmospheric front.
Cold air, trying to overcome the warm air flow remaining below, in some area pushes part of its layer back - and it comes into collision with the masses following it. As a result of the collision, the pressure between them increases and part of the warm air turned back, yielding to the pressure, is deflected to the side, beginning an ellipsoidal rotation.
This vortex begins to capture the layers of air adjacent to it, draws them into rotation and begins to move at a speed of 30 to 50 km/h, while the center of the cyclone moves at a lower speed than its periphery. As a result, after some time the diameter of the cyclone ranges from 1 to 3 thousand km, and the height – from 2 to 20 km.
Where it moves, the weather changes sharply, since the center of the cyclone has low pressure, there is a lack of air inside it, and cold air masses begin to flow in to make up for it. They displace warm air upward, where it cools, and the water droplets in it condense and form clouds, from which precipitation falls.
The lifespan of a vortex is usually from several days to weeks, but in some regions it can last about a year: usually these are areas of low pressure (for example, the Icelandic or Aleutian cyclones).
It is worth noting that such vortices are not typical for the equatorial zone, since the deflecting force of the planet’s rotation, necessary for the vortex-like movement of air masses, does not act here.
The southernmost, tropical cyclone, forms no closer to the equator than five degrees and is characterized by a smaller diameter, but higher wind speed, often transforming into a hurricane. According to their origin, there are such types of cyclones as the temperate cyclone and the tropical cyclone, which generates deadly hurricanes.
Vortexes of tropical latitudes
In the 1970s, tropical cyclone Bhola hit Bangladesh. Although the wind speed and strength were low and it was assigned only the third (out of five) hurricane category, due to the huge amount of precipitation that fell on the ground, the Ganges River overflowed its banks and flooded almost all the islands, washing away all settlements from the face of the earth.
The consequences were catastrophic: during the rampant disaster, from three hundred to five hundred thousand people died.
A tropical cyclone is much more dangerous than a vortex from temperate latitudes: it is formed where the temperature of the ocean surface is not lower than 26 °, and the difference between air temperatures exceeds two degrees, as a result of which evaporation increases, air humidity increases, which contributes to the vertical rise of air masses.
Thus, a very strong draft appears, capturing new volumes of air that have heated up and gained moisture above the ocean surface. The rotation of our planet around its axis gives the rise of air the vortex-like movement of a cyclone, which begins to rotate at enormous speed, often transforming into hurricanes of terrifying force.
A tropical cyclone is formed only over the ocean surface between 5-20 degrees north and south latitudes, and once on land, it fades out quite quickly. Its dimensions are usually small: the diameter rarely exceeds 250 km, but the pressure at the center of the cyclone is extremely low (the lower, the faster the wind moves, so the movement of cyclones is usually from 10 to 30 m/s, and wind gusts exceed 100 m/s) . Naturally, not every tropical cyclone brings death with it.
There are four types of this vortex:
- Disturbance – moves at a speed not exceeding 17 m/s;
- Depression - the movement of the cyclone is from 17 to 20 m/s;
- Storm - the center of the cyclone moves at a speed of up to 38 m/s;
- Hurricane - a tropical cyclone moves at a speed exceeding 39 m/s.
The center of this type of cyclone is characterized by a phenomenon called the “eye of the storm” - an area of calm weather. Its diameter is usually about 30 km, but if a tropical cyclone is destructive, it can reach up to seventy. Inside the eye of the storm, the air masses have a warmer temperature and less humidity than in the rest of the vortex.
Calm often reigns here; at the border, precipitation abruptly stops, the sky clears, the wind weakens, thereby deceiving people who, deciding that the danger has passed, relax and forget about precautions. Since a tropical cyclone always moves from the ocean, it drives huge waves in front of it, which, when they hit the coast, sweep everything out of the way.
Scientists are increasingly recording the fact that every year the tropical cyclone becomes more dangerous and its activity is constantly increasing (this is due to global warming). Therefore, these cyclones are found not only in tropical latitudes, but also reach Europe at an atypical time of year for them: they usually form in late summer/early autumn and never occur in spring.
Thus, in December 1999, France, Switzerland, Germany, and the UK were hit by Hurricane Lothar, so powerful that meteorologists could not even predict its appearance due to the fact that the sensors either went off scale or did not work. “Lotar” turned out to be the cause of the death of more than seventy people (they were mainly victims of road accidents and falling trees), and in Germany alone, about 40 thousand hectares of forest were destroyed in a few minutes.
Anticyclones
An anticyclone is a vortex in the center of which there is high pressure and low pressure at the periphery. It is formed in the lower layers of the Earth's atmosphere when cold air masses invade warmer ones. An anticyclone occurs in subtropical and subpolar latitudes, and its movement speed is about 30 km/h.
An anticyclone is the opposite of a cyclone: the air in it does not rise, but descends. It is characterized by the absence of humidity. An anticyclone is characterized by dry, clear, and windless weather, hot in summer and frosty in winter. Significant temperature fluctuations during the day are also characteristic (the difference is especially strong on the continents: for example, in Siberia it is about 25 degrees). This is explained by the lack of precipitation, which usually makes the temperature difference less noticeable.
Names of vortices
In the middle of the last century, anticyclones and cyclones began to be given names: this turned out to be much more convenient when exchanging information about hurricanes and cyclone movements in the atmosphere, since it made it possible to avoid confusion and reduce the number of errors. Behind each name of a cyclone and anticyclone there was hidden data about the vortex, down to its coordinates in the lower layer of the atmosphere.
Before making a final decision on the name of this or that cyclone and anticyclone, a sufficient number of proposals were considered: they were proposed to be designated by numbers, letters of the alphabets, names of birds, animals, etc. This turned out to be so convenient and effective that after a while Over time, all cyclones and anticyclones received names (at first they were female, and in the late seventies tropical vortices began to be called by male names).
Since 2002, a service has appeared that offers anyone who wants to name a cyclone or anticyclone by their name. The pleasure is not cheap: the standard price for a cyclone to be named after a customer is 199 euros, and an anticyclone costs 299 euros, since anticyclones occur less frequently.
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