Higher Geography - How do I approach the ITCZ question?
thinkfour Schools - Scotland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvq4c_VKhEs

Transkript (automatisch erstellt)

0:01 imagine a natural phenomenon that is so powerful that it controls the lives of millions of people a natural force so great it influences
0:12 migration Wildlife poverty the shape of the land and controls the climate of whole parts of a continent
0:22 this force of nature is not volcanoes earthquakes or fiction it is the itcz or the inter-tropical Convergent Zone coming together of air masses
0:35 so let's explore this aspect of the atmosphere and its influence on the wet and dry seasons of West Africa this is thing four
0:50 the itcz stands for the inter-tropical Convergent Zone the words into tropical means it sits between the tropics north and south of
1:00 the Equator the word convergence refers to where the trade winds meet at the base of the Hadley cells either side of the Equator
1:08 where the trade winds meet at the equator a zone of low pressure is created here warm air rises through convection as it does so it draws in air
1:17 from 30 degrees north and south as the warm air rises it chills and condenses to cause storm clouds and heavy rain this next part is key the itcz moves
1:30 North and South throughout the year following the thermal equator this is the movement of the Sun in relation to the Earth's surface it
1:38 Alters where the most heat is received and where convection takes place the rainfall produced controls the wet and dry seasons in West Africa as the itcz
1:48 follows the thermal equator it controls the movement of two key air masses which affect the climate the trade winds pull in the tropical Maritime and tropical
1:59 Continental air masses and meet to form the itcz the tropical maritime air mass originates mainly over the Atlantic and so carries a lot of moisture
2:09 it is unstable warm and humid and is created near the tropics it brings rain to West Africa the tropical Continental air mass is the
2:19 opposite it is formed over the Sahara Desert consequently it is dry warm and stable with warm winds called harmattan as the itcz follows a thermal equator
2:31 throughout the year these air masses take it in turns to dominate the climate of the region by July the itcz has migrated northwards and sits over the
2:41 Tropic of Cancer it is pulled with it the tropical maritime air mass bringing the wet season to most of West Africa
2:50 by January it has moved southwards and sits over the coast of West Africa it has paused with it the tropical Continental air mass bringing the dry
2:58 season to the region cities like Lagos on the coast of Nigeria are closer to the tropics Lagos is wetter as it is affected by the
3:08 tropical maritime air mass throughout the year climate grass for Lagos will show rainfall all year with a peak in June as
3:16 the itcz moves North it then Peaks again in October as the itcz Retreats South bringing more rain to the area
3:26 in December and January there is less rain as the tropical Continental air mass dominates places further north like agades are
3:35 closer to the Sahara Desert and will be drier as they are affected by the tropical continents where amass most of the year
3:42 by the time the tropical maritime air mass has covered West Africa in July there will be less moisture available to water agates
3:51 climate graphs for places like agades will show six to seven months rainfall from October to April with a short wet season in the summer and small amounts
4:02 of rain places situated more centrally like Bobo de lasso in Burkina Faso have a clear wet and dry season with large amounts of rainfall from June to August
4:12 when the itcz is furthest North the itcz is a complex climatic process that controls life for millions of people in West Africa
4:23 as we change the planet's natural systems the effects of the itcz could become more extreme in the future millions of lives depend upon the itcz
4:34 both socially and economically the convergence of two different air types and how we are changing them is massive
4:43 it is much more important than just another part of your higher geography course this was thing four thanks for watching
4:53 [Music]