After reading Chapter 6, you should be able to:
- Define the concept of air pressure and describe instruments used to measure air pressure.
- Define wind, and describe how wind is measured, how wind direction is determined, and how winds are named.
- Explain the four driving forces within the atmosphere -- gravity, pressure gradient force, Coriolis force, and friction force -- and describe the primary high- and low-pressure areas and principal winds.
- Describe upper-air circulation and its support role for surface systems, and define the jet streams.
- Overview several multiyear oscillations of air temperature, air pressure, and circulation in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans.
- Explain several types of local winds: land-sea breezes, mountain-valley breezes, katabatic winds, and the regional monsoons.
- Discern the basic pattern of the Earth's major surface ocean currents and deep thermohaline circulation.
