During the spring equinox, the northern hemisphere has just completed winter, an

Question

During the spring equinox, the northern hemisphere has just completed winter, and the southern hemisphere has just completed summer. (circle one)

a) During the spring equinox, the northern/southern hemisphere should have the largest temperature gradient (i.e the largest difference in tempreature between the eqautor and the pole)

b) Therefore, the surface pressure at the North pole during the spring equinox should be higher/lower than that of the south pole.

c) Recall that winds result from pressure gradients: larger difference in pressure between two locations will generate stronger winds. Therefore, during the spring equinox the westerlies in the Nothern hemisphere should be stronger/weaker than in the southern hemisphere.

Explanation / Answer

ANSWERS

a) During the spring equinox, the northern hemisphere should have the largest temperature gradient.

Reason-At each equinox, the sun crosses Earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length on most of the planet. At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on either equinox. However, day and night are not exactly equal to the date of the equinoxes. For instance, at higher latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the "equal day and night" occurs a few days before the spring equinox, while in the Southern Hemisphere that date comes after the March equinox.

b) Therefore, the surface pressure at the North Pole during the spring equinox should be higher than that of the south pole.

c) during the spring Equinox the westerlies in the Northern hemisphere should be weaker than in the southern hemisphere.

reason: as the temperature in the southern hemisphere is greater than the northern hemisphere.

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