We explain what atmospheric phenomena are, what types exist, their consequences, characteristics and various examples.
What are atmospheric phenomena?
The atmospheric phenomena or meteorological phenomena, are all the events that take place in the atmosphere land. Most of them are due to local variations and imbalances of temperature Y density, that is, of the winds, which always go from the areas of air colder and denser, towards the warmer and more expanded air areas.
The Earth's atmosphere comprises various strata as it moves away from the land surface, varying in their conditions of Pressure and temperature. The same happens when changing latitude and longitude, according to the various climatic regions of the world, which change in relation to humidity, density and amount of solar energy received.
Changes in the forces and properties of the atmosphere cause various phenomena, such as hydrological cycle and the different meteorological cycles of the globe. They also cause more intense or erratic atmospheric phenomena, which may well transform into a natural disaster, or even striking atmospheric optical effects.
Broadly speaking, atmospheric phenomena can be of three types, according to their nature:
- Opticians. When they are due to the way in which the sunlight in the Earth's atmosphere, and its interaction with the air at its different levels. An example of this are the Aurora borealis.
- Hydric. When they are due to the impact of atmospheric conditions on the hydrological or water cycle. For example, rains and drizzles.
- Meteorological. When they are due to the incidence of pressure and temperature conditions on the air masses that make up the atmosphere (winds). For example, hurricanes and tropical depressions.
Examples of atmospheric phenomena
We can list some known atmospheric phenomena, such as:
- Precipitation. That is, rain, drizzle and, depending on the pressure and temperature conditions in the atmospheric regions close to the earth's surface, also hail and snow, as they are solid or semi-solid forms of the earth. Water.
- The Hurricanes. This fearsome atmospheric phenomenon is due to the meeting and opposition of hot and cold winds that, turning around a common axis, get trapped and generate a loss of pressure. In principle, these typically tropical and Atlantic Ocean phenomena are called "Tropical Depressions", and as they absorb matter Y Energy, enlarging, they become "Tropical storms" and finally "Hurricanes". They are characterized by high rainfall, high winds force and speed, and rapid drops in temperature.
- The auroras. Both in the northern hemisphere (aurora borealis) and in the south (aurora austral), these visual phenomena are due to the impact of particles emitted into space (solar wind) with the terrestrial magnetosphere, producing in the regions close to the poles of the planet a visual spectacle of colors, lights and apparent shapes in the sky.
- The hurricanes. A tornado is a vortex column of air that is in contact with the Earth's surface and with a cumulus cloud, rotating on its axis with extremely high angular velocity. It is the cyclonic phenomenon with the highest energy density on the planet, and they are usually shaped like an inverted funnel or cone, being capable of dragging and throwing various materials and living beings.
- The Rainbow. Rainbows are well-known optical phenomena that cross the sky after (or during) a light rain or some other similar situation of atmospheric humidity. In these cases, sunlight passes through the raindrops as it would a prism, breaking down into all colors that make up the spectrum of visible light.