I understand the Coriolis Effect makes wind (and everything else) spin clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere, but what makes it so different in smaller areas, and what causes wind in the first place?
In: Physics
Wind is typically driven by differences in temperature. This results in air having different densities, and as we all have heard, *warm air rises*. Sometimes the difference in temperature forms sort of randomly, sometimes from clouds’ shadows or ocean evaporation. It all comes down to heat, which usually comes from the sun or water.
Hot air expands, cold air contracts, and a spinning globe sloshes it all around. When denser air is next to less dense air, there is a pressure differential and the result is wind.
Also, the day and night cycle ensures the air is always changing temperature.
So think about being on a beach during summer at noon. If you stand on the sand it is blistering hot. But as soon as you step into the water it is drastically cooler. This temperature difference transfers in small part to the air above the beach and water. Air is a poor carrier of heat which is why the air isn’t as hot as the sand, but there is still a difference. Hot air rises. This leaves space behind it that needs to be filled. Other air fills this space. The movement of the air to fill the space is wind. This is why day time breezes blow from the ocean to the land. Because the air over the land is warmer, it rises up and the colder ocean air flows in to fill the space.
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