Winds
What are they? By:Ellie Maldonado
What are winds? What causes them?
Local Winds
Global Winds
A lot of the world's wind travels in convection currents, but some of it travels as global wind. Global winds are another type of wind that blow over larger areas of land, like the globe (hence the name global wind). These are also created by uneven heating of Earth's surface. The Coriolis Effect causes the wind on Earth to curve due to the Earth's tilt, otherwise the wind would go straight. One kind of global wind is the horse latitudes. It is said that hundreds of years ago, sailors going out for trade were stuck in these calm waters, so they let go of there horses to make themselves lighter so the gentle winds could carry them. And so forth they became the horse latitudes. These are areas at the 30 degree north and south latitudes where warm air falls. Next, I'll tell you about jet streams. These winds are found all around the Earth in long, wavy paths. These paths of air 10 km above the Earth's surface are what jets and planes follow. It travels at a speed of 200-400 miles per hour. Now onto trade winds. These were used to get men across the sea for trades with other countries. These winds are located between 0-30 degrees north and south latitude. They all blow from the west. Lastly, we have polar easterlies. These global winds blow air away from the poles. These blow to the west due to the Coriolis Effect. Now you know a little more on wind! Ta-da!