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What does meridional mean in science?
meridional. [ mə-rĭd′ē-ə-nəl ] adj. Of or relating to meridians or a meridian.
What is meridional in geography?
meridional (not comparable) located in the south, southern; later especially, pertaining to the south of France or other southern parts of Europe. [ from 14th c.] quotations ▼ (astronomy, geography) along a north-south direction, or relative to a meridian; or relating to meridians or a meridian [from 15th c.]
What are meridional winds?
The wind or wind component along the local meridian, as distinguished from the zonal wind. In a horizontal coordinate system fixed locally with the x axis directed eastward and the y axis northward, the meridional wind is positive if from the south, and negative if from the north.
What does meridional circulation mean?
An atmospheric circulation in a vertical plane oriented along a meridian. It consists, therefore, of the vertical and the meridional (north or south) components of motion only.
What is meant by meridional and zonal flow in the atmosphere?
Zonal flow is defined as west to east or east to west, while meridional flow indicates north-to-south or south-to-north air motion. Zonal flow is typically associated with relatively weak troughs and ridges, and thus relatively quiet weather.
What is meridional cell?
Large-scale circulation in either the atmosphere or ocean that occurs predominantly in a north–south direction, such as the atmospheric Hadley cells. Most such cells form part of a direct circulation, driven by convection. From: meridional cell in A Dictionary of Weather »
Why does meridional mean south?
Late Middle English via Old French from late Latin meridionalis, formed irregularly from Latin meridies ‘midday, south’.
What causes meridional wind?
Here we show that this change in the meridional wind field is caused by strengthened zonal mean westerlies in the sub-tropical upper troposphere, which alters the character of intermediate-scale stationary waves.
What is meridional distance?
the distance or departure from the meridian; the easting or westing. …
What is meridional transport?
When we consider the meridional struc- ture, the earth receives more energy than it emits in tropical latitudes, while the opposite is the case in polar latitudes. To attain a local balance, there must be transport of energy from the tropics to the polar latitudes, either by the atmosphere or by the ocean.
What causes meridional flow?
When the winds cross the latitude lines at a sharp angle, the wind pattern is termed meridional. In a meridional pattern the jet stream will have highly amplified troughs and ridges. A highly meridional flow can cause atmospheric blocking and spells of much below and much above normal temperatures.
What are meridional parts?
: the linear length of one minute of longitude on a Mercator chart.