1. China is a very large land mass found between about
20° to 55° north latitude and between approximately 75° to 135° east longitude,
entirely within the northern hemisphere.
Based on it’s position within the lines of latitude it falls within both
the Hadley and Ferrell atmospheric
cells although the majority of the land mass falls in the Ferrell cell (Ahrens,
2012). Furthermore based on this
information we can generally conclude that China predominantly experiences Westerly Winds in its temperate region but also experiences the Northeastern Trades. Again China is a very large nation so accurately describing wind direction for the whole state is not feasible. Looking specifically at Beijing the Westerlies influence local winds more so in the winter months with winds out of the northwest. While winds from the southeast predominate during the summer months. From: http://www.windfinder.com/windstatistics/beijing_capital_airport.
China's geographic location is over the Subtropical High Pressure Belt. However, the
pressure systems that most influences China's weather is more localized. During the winter months it is the Siberian High Pressure System while the high pressure system during the summer come from the Pacific and Indian Ocean. From: http://www.bbc.com/weather/features/17929643. The northern border of China is definitely effected by the polar fronts during the winter months.
China's geographic location is over the Subtropical High Pressure Belt. However, the
pressure systems that most influences China's weather is more localized. During the winter months it is the Siberian High Pressure System while the high pressure system during the summer come from the Pacific and Indian Ocean. From: http://www.bbc.com/weather/features/17929643. The northern border of China is definitely effected by the polar fronts during the winter months.
2. China's geographic position primarily in the Ferrell Cell as well as it's northern hemisphere location we anticipate that Westerlies will influence weather in that country from the Arctic region. In fact this is for much of the country true. Cool dry winds do come from Siberian High Pressure systems during the winter. The result is dry and very cold climate in much of China during that period. See the global map below note the high pressure system in the center of Asia it encompasses large portion of Central Asia including Kazakhstan, China, and Russia.
| https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR7eMWJI3_YVMSg6VzGwTNQwBj7jZc6G8KIunzhYf0o78wZcMtZ |
In the summer months the high pressure systems are found in the western Pacific which are responsible for the Northeast Trades. As they cross the Pacific they are moving to the Southwest, however they approach China most often from the south perhaps as they collide with High Pressure systems from the southern hemisphere, which are responsible for the Aisatic Summer Monsoons. The resulting summer climate is therefore both warm to hot and wet.
3. China is a country surrounded by mountains. The Himalayas in the south being the most well known but mountain ranges extend up the western border of China and then continue back to the east on the northern border regions. Additionally China has mountain ranges from the eastern edge of the Himalayas up to the northeast through central China. Winds and breezes associated with mountains include both mountain and valley breezes but also Katabatic, Chinook (or Foehn), and Santa Ana Winds. China experiences both mountain and valley breezes, Chi'ing Fung is an example of gently breeze found in China. From: http://windlegends.org/windnames.htm. Additionally China certainly has Katabatic type winds that descend from the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau and the myriad of other mountains the country.
The other major feature surrounding China is a very long coastline at least over 2300 kilometers long starting at the Gulf of Tonkin to the south at it's border with Vietnam and working up to the north and east to the Yellow Sea where it borders with North Korea. China experiences both land and sea breezes associated with coastlines.
Both our countries both have variation in our prevailing winds. Your country can experience Western Westerlies yet at the same time in can experience North Eastern Trade Winds. My country can experience either North Eastern Trade winds or South Eastern Trade Winds. The type of local winds associated with mountains that your country can experience can vary due to having several mountains while mine has only two with only a possibility of foehn winds in the future.
ReplyDeleteIn many ways, China is similar to Bolivia with the global wind and pressure patterns. We both experience Hadley cells, but since china is located in the northern hemisphere, they experience northwest winds instead of Bolivia's southeast winds. Both of our countries have many mountains, so we experience mountain and valley breezes.
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