1 .		Look at the current 500 mb Height Map for the Southern Hemisphere and the 500 mb Height Map for the Northern Hemisphere, which show height contours in color. We know that in the northern hemisphere, heights at 500 mb are lowest at high latitudes and highest at low latitudes--why is this? Does a similar relationship hold in the southern hemisphere? The latitudinal height distribution in the northern hemisphere gives rise to westerly winds at 500 mb--why? Does the latitudinal height distribution in the southern hemisphere cause westerly or easterly winds at 500 mb? How does the change in the direction of deflection by the Coriolis force between hemispheres affect your answer?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.
2 .		This Map of Wind Power shows the energy that can be derived from wind at 10 m and 50 m above the surface. Across the Great Plains of the United States (from Texas to North Dakota), how does the wind power density change from south to north? What does this change imply about the typical pressure gradient force across this region? Why is the implied wind speed so much greater around the Great Lakes? How does elevation affect wind speed? As you can see (faintly) from the legend in the lower left corner, the relationship between wind energy and wind speed is non-linear. In fact, wind energy increases as the cube of wind speed (i.e., wind energy is proportional to wind speed x wind speed x wind speed). If a region has a mean annual wind speed of 5 miles per hour, but experiences mean wind speeds of 2.5 miles an hour in summer and 10 miles an hour in winter, how much more wind energy can be obtained during winter? [Source]   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.
3 .		The effects of the Coriolis force can be difficult to visualize. To further your understanding of the concept, you may want to view these movies (produced by the University of Illinois Online Meteorology Guide) demonstrating the Coriolis force, and then answer the question below. In his televised journey from the North Pole to the South Pole, comedian/writer/traveler/Monty Python member Michael Palin came across a peculiar tourist attraction located on the equator in Africa. At this tourist hot spot, there are two water fountains positioned on each side of the equator: one in the Northern Hemisphere and one in the Southern hemisphere. The tour guide tells the tourists that water drains in a clockwise direction on the northern side of the equator and counterclockwise on the southern side of the equator due to the effects of the Coriolis force. The water does appear to drain down the fountains as predicted by the tour guides. Having learned about the Coriolis force in this chapter, do you think the direction of water drainage reflects the impact of the Coriolis force or is this a coincidence? Make a reasoned argument first, and read through the information provided by the links at this site for more information.   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.