In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Show Sea breezes are winds that are caused by the differential heating rates of land and sea. During the day the land heats up more rapidly than the sea because:
Warm air over the land rises creating a lower pressure at the surface and a higher pressure at the altitude that the air is lifted to. Cool air from over the sea which is now at a higher pressure tends to move in to the low pressure area over land. A circulation is established as the air over the sea subsides and warm air from over land moves in to take its place.  Sea breezes tend to be stronger in the tropics where greater temperature differences are established between land and water and there is also a greater tendancy for instability over the heated land. Lake breezes are also formed around large areas of inland water. Low level wind shears are often enhanced by sea breeze circulation. Land breezes because the of reverse situation. Overnight the land cools to be colder than the sea so cold overland air moves to replace warmer the warmer air over the sea. As clue to the names of sea breeze and land breeze just remember that when we name winds by where they come from! A sea breeze comes from the sea, a land breeze comes from the land, a northerly wind comes from the north. Further information on sea and land breezes can be found in Bob Tait’s book ‘CPL Meteorology’ in Topic 2 – Local Winds. BAck to Pilot Exam Help Index Technical data content credited to Mr Steve Griffin Sea and Land Breezes describe the wind that blows onshore from sea to land during the day and blows offshore in the evening. Why do I care? During the summer, the sea breezes are stronger than in winter because of the large temperature differences between land and ocean water that time of year. The fronts caused by the sea breezes along the coast can provide a trigger to daily thunderstorm activity in coastal areas, particularly along the peninsula of Florida. I should already be familiar with: Temperature Gradient, Convergence and Divergence A sea breeze describes a wind that blows from the ocean inland towards land. This breeze occurs most often in the spring and summer months because of the greater temperature differences between the ocean and nearby land, particularly in the afternoon when the land is at maximum heating from the sun. During the day, the sun heats up both the ocean surface and the land. Water is a good absorber of the energy from the sun. The land absorbs much of the sun’s energy as well. However, water heats up much more slowly than land and so the air above the land will be warmer compared to the air over the ocean. The warm air over the land will rise throughout the day, causing low pressure at the surface. Over the water, high surface pressure will form because of the colder air. To compensate, the air will sink over the ocean. The wind will blow from the higher pressure over the water to lower pressure over the land causing the sea breeze. The sea breeze strength will vary depending on the temperature difference between the land and the ocean. At night, the roles reverse. The air over the ocean is now warmer than the air over the land. The land loses heat quickly after the sun goes down and the air above it cools too. This can be compared to a blacktop road. During the day, the blacktop road heats up and becomes very hot to walk on. At night, however, the blacktop has given up the added heat and is cool to the touch. The ocean, however, is able to hold onto this heat after the sun sets and not lose it as easily. This causes the low surface pressure to shift to over the ocean during the night and the high surface pressure to move over the land. This causes a small temperature gradient between the ocean surface and the nearby land at night and the wind will blow from the land to the ocean creating the land breeze. At certain locations, converging sea breezes can cause thunderstorms during the afternoon. On the peninsula of Florida, winds are blowing easterly (from the east) off the Atlantic Ocean and westerly (from the west) off the Gulf of Mexico. This causes sea breezes to converge towards the central part of the peninsula. The air rises, forming clouds, precipitation, and potentially, thunderstorms. These sea breezes are very beneficial to the climate of Florida and along the East Coast. On occasion, these sea breezes are not strong enough and do not converge inland over Florida. When this happens, forest fires are then at risk of occurring if the proper conditions exist with no relief from precipitation due to the sea breezes. At locations near the ocean, temperature variations throughout the year can be very small, or at least smaller than locations farther inland throughout a 24-hour period. Inland areas warm up greatly during the afternoon while the sun is shining down, but they also cool down quickly at night after sunset. More water vapor exists in the air around locations near large bodies of water which absorb much of the moisture from the surrounding water. These locations will warm up during the day, but will remain cooler in comparison to other locations farther inland and will keep the temperature at a comfortable level. During winter, the locations near the large bodies of water will remain milder than surrounding inland areas. During the summer, the sea breezes keep these locations cooler than other locations farther inland. Figure B shows a comparison between the temperature of cities around water and cities farther inland using only the proximity to water as a variable on the daily temperature. Want to learn more?Monsoon Systems, Life Cycle of a Thunderstorm, Drought and Wildfires Links to National Science Education Standards:7th grade science: 7.E.1.5 : Explain the influence of convection, global winds, and the jet stream on weather and climatic conditions. Earth Science: EEn.1.1.4 : Explain how incoming solar energy makes life possible on Earth.
The breezes usually occur along coastlines or areas which are adjacent to large water bodies. It also occurs because water and land have different heating abilities. Land heats up faster than water. On the other hand, water takes a bit more time to warm up compared to land and can retain the heat longer than land does. It is vital for the breeze. Here we will read about two crucial factors of prevailing winds in coastal regions – land breeze and sea breeze. The breeze that flows from land to water late at night is called land breeze, while the breeze that flows from sea or large water body to land during hot summer days is called sea breeze. As summer approaches, when going to the beach in the afternoon, you can feel a gentle, cool breeze blowing inland. That is a sea breeze. However, late at night, the wind turns into a sultry land breeze. Sea breezes alternately occur with land breezes and vice versa along the coastal regions of oceans or large lakes during the daytime and at night. People, who live within 30 to 40 km of the coastline, often experience the colder winds of the sea breeze blowing at the rate of 10 to 20 knots on a sunny afternoon. While late at night, it is the hot and humid land breeze that ranges from 5 to 8 knots. Wind farms are mostly located near the coast to take advantage of the fluctuating wind speed resulting from sea or land breezes daily. Glider pilots also take advantage of the sea breeze to steer at higher altitudes. When Does Land Breeze Occur?Land breeze occurs late at night due to the differences in the heating or cooling capacity of the surface of the water and the adjacent land surface. In autumn and winter, land breezes are most common because of the cooler nights. When Does the Sea Breeze Occur?Sea breeze commonly occurs after sunrise along the coasts, mostly on a sunny afternoon due to the differences in the heating or cooling of the water surface and the adjacent land surface. Sea breezes are mostly experienced during the spring and summer season because of the significant temperature differences between land and water. What Causes the Land Breeze?Land breeze or offshore breeze usually occurs at night. After sunset, the land surface cools quicker than the water surface that retains warmth during the night. Therefore, the warmer air over the ocean becomes light and begins to rise. As a result, the low pressure is formed over the water. Then the dense and cool air flows offshore from the land to occupy the space of the light warm air over the sea that rises and causes a land breeze. Land breezes are mostly dry winds. It is just the reverse effect of the sea breeze at night. What Causes the Sea Breeze?A sea breeze, also known as an onshore breeze, occurs because of the differences in air pressure created by the difference in temperature between the ocean or water and the dry land. The primary reason is the different heating capacity of the two. Land always heats up faster than water. Whereas the sea has a higher heat capacity compared to land for which the surface of the sea warms up more slowly compared to the land. READ: Oceanography vs Marine Biology (Are They Same or Different) During the afternoon, when the land heats up, the air above the land expands, becomes lighter, and begins to rise to decrease the pressure over the land near the coast. A low-pressure area is formed near the land. The cooler and dense air spread over the ocean has relatively high-pressure areas. It causes the air near the coast to move to the land surface to occupy the space of the rising warm air. The strength of the sea breeze is directly proportional to the difference in temperature between the land and the sea. The warm air that rises moves over the water and the cold water allows it to cool off and sink. This process continues until the state of equilibrium is reached. Sea breezes are usually stronger in summer months than in the winter season. They contain more moisture than land breeze due to the absorbed particles from the water bodies. What is the Effect of Land Breeze?Since the flowing of the land breeze terminates over water, it creates a region of low-level air convergence. Such convergence often causes the upward movement of air and the formation of clouds. Therefore, you may find clouds lying off the coast at night, but the daytime sea breeze later dissipates that. It does not necessarily cause temperature changes. What is the Effect of the Sea Breeze?A sea breeze usually creates a weather front that is known as sea-breeze front or convergence zone. During this cycle, as the flow of the cold sea breeze terminates over land, it creates a boundary like a shallow cold front, and a region of low-level air convergence is created. This convergence causes an upward movement of air. READ: Primary Causes of Water Pollution A line of cumulus clouds may form when this warm, rising air makes the front powerful. Under appropriate conditions, when the air is humid and unstable, the front may trigger smaller thunderstorms along with the sea breeze. Here the most important thing is the phenomena, that warm air rises, and cold air sinks; without this, fronts would not form. Sea breezes may significantly reduce air temperature. We can take the example of Florida, where Thunderstorms frequently occur and are caused by powerful sea breeze fronts. Florida peninsula is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico on both the east and west, respectively. In the whole of the United States, it is the place most often struck by lightning and also one of the most places on Earth during the wet season that lasts from June through September/October. Here any direction that the winds are blowing would always be off the water. These storms can also create significant hail due to the tremendous updraft it causes in the atmosphere, especially during the spring or fall when the upper atmosphere is cooler. On summer afternoons, severe storms occur down the center of the state when, with little prevailing wind, sea breezes from both coasts collide in the middle. It depends on the relative strengths of the sea breezes, which make these thunderstorms drift towards either the west or east coast and sometimes survive to move out over the water at night. It also creates the magnificent cloud-to-cloud lightning shows for hours after sunset. Resources: https://www.britannica.com/science/sea-breeze https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/educate/seabreeze_ans.shtml https://climate.ncsu.edu/edu/Breezes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_breeze |
Why does land heat up faster than water on a hot day and how does this difference result in the sea breeze?
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