These notes are made from IEB SAGS document, they include Settlement, Geomorphology and Climatology. Diagrams are included in the notes which are found in the exams and extracted from the text books
Geo Notes
MID LATITUDE CYCLONES
1) General Characteristics of all cyclones
Isobars are closed around a central low pressure cell
Wind blowing from a high pressure to a low pressure
As the wind moves from the HP to the LP it is defected by the Coriolis Force
o <--- in S.H (Clockwise)
o ---> in N.H (Anti-Clockwise)
Air converges and rises at the surface then diverges in the upper air
2) General Characteristics specifc to mid-lat cyclones
Warm sub-tropical air meets cold polar
A front is formed = the boundary between the 2 fronts
o A warm front and a cold front must be present
o Usually occur in families (more than 1)
o Last for 4-14 days
3) Conditions necessary for formation of mid-lat cyclones
Mass of warm air meeting mass of cold air
Upper air convergence
A low pressure development
4) Areas where mid-lat cyclones form
Only certain areas
o Form about 40˚to 60˚ north and south of the equator
o Polar front whereby westerly winds blow
o In winter the mid-lat cyclones moves more north as the sun move
north
o The cold fronts are associated with cold weather and rain.
, Tyy Golding Climatology
The seasonal movement of mid-lat cyclones thus explains cold
wet winters in SA and dry summers in S.A.
5) Stages of development
Initial stage
o Two air mashes do not mix because they separated by front.
o A cell of low pressure begins
Mature stage
o Air moves clockwise in southern hemisphere and anti clockwise in
northern hemisphere.
o polar front forms cold and warm front
o cold front lead to cold air, area of cold front called cold sector
o warm front lead to warm air , area of warm front lead to warm sector
Occluded stage or Occlusion stage
o cold front overtakes warm front / warm front overtakes cold front.
Dissipating stage / decaying stage
o System stars to slow down/ dissipate System become weak it ends.
5) Weather patterns associated with cold and warm fronts
Warm front
o Relatively gentle angle means covers a wide angle
o Warm moist air rises over cold air resulting in cloud formation
Cirrus, altostratus and nimbostratus
o Soft rainfall covering a large area
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