I tried to Google around and didn’t find an answer.
It’s seems there are conflicts with the explanations about earth winds.
One says winds go west to east because of earth rotation and others says its east to west because of Coriolis effect.
Can someone explain it to me simply please?
In: 71
The movement of air masses, such as the trade winds and the jet stream, is influenced by various factors that create intricate wind patterns. These patterns might seem contradictory, but they arise due to Earth’s rotation, temperature differences, and atmospheric pressure dynamics.
The trade winds blow from the east to the west in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This phenomenon is primarily driven by Earth’s rotation and the temperature disparity between the equator and the poles. The equator receives more direct sunlight, causing warm air to rise near it and flow toward the poles at higher altitudes. Cooler air from higher latitudes then moves in to replace the rising warm air, giving rise to the east-to-west flow of the trade winds at the surface.
On the other hand, the jet stream is a swift and narrow current of air found at high altitudes. It flows from west to east and is influenced by temperature contrasts between different air masses. Earth’s rotation, known as the Coriolis effect, also influences its trajectory. The jet stream typically forms along the boundary between distinct air masses. The polar jet stream is usually situated at higher latitudes, while the subtropical jet stream is found farther south.
Both the trade winds and the jet stream are shaped by Earth’s rotation, temperature variations, and atmospheric pressure dynamics. The trade winds, which flow from east to west, result from temperature differences between the equator and the poles. Meanwhile, the west-to-east movement of the jet stream at high altitudes is driven by a combination of temperature contrasts and the Coriolis effect.
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