For centuries, atmospheric phenomena have been the subject of research because of its significance and influence on all spheres of life. Cyclone and anticyclone are no exception. The concept of these weather phenomena gives back to school geography. After such a brief study, cyclones and anticyclones remain a mystery to many. Air masses and fronts are key concepts that will help reflect the essence of these weather events.
Air masses
It often happens that over many thousands of kilometers in the horizontal direction, air has very similar properties. This mass is called air.
Air masses are divided into cold, warm and local:
- a cold mass is called if its temperature is lower than the temperature of the surface over which it is located;
- warm - this is such an air mass whose temperature is higher than the temperature of the surface that is under it;
- the local air mass is no different in temperature from the surface below it.
Air masses form over different parts of the Earth, which leads to features in their properties. If the mass is formed over the Arctic, then, accordingly, it will be called the Arctic. Of course, such air is very cold, it can bring thick fogs or light haze. Polar air considers temperate latitudes its deposit. Its properties may vary depending on what time of year has come. In winter, the polar masses are not much different from the arctic, but in summer such air can bring very poor visibility.
Tropical masses that came from the tropics and subtropics have a high temperature and increased dust content. They are the culprits of the haze, which covered objects, if you look at them from a distance. Tropical masses formed on the continental tropical zone lead to dust vortices, storms and tornadoes. Equatorial air is very similar to tropical, but all these properties are more pronounced.
Fronts
If two air masses with different temperatures meet, a new weather phenomenon is formed - the front, or interface.
By the nature of the movement, the fronts are divided into stationary and mobile.
Each existing front shares air masses. For example, the main polar front is an imaginary mediator between the polar and tropical air, the main Arctic - between the Arctic and the polar, and so on.
If a warm air mass creeps onto a cold mass, a warm front arises. For travelers, entrance to such a front can portend either heavy rain or snow, which will significantly reduce visibility. When cold air wedges under the warm air, the formation of a cold front is observed. Ships falling into the cold front suffer from squalls, showers and thunderstorms.
It happens that the air masses do not collide, but catch up with one another. In such cases, an occlusion front is formed. If the role of the catching-up is played by the cold mass, then this phenomenon is called the front of cold occlusion, if on the contrary, then the front of warm occlusion. These fronts carry heavy rain with strong gusts of wind.
Cyclones
To understand what an anticyclone is, you need to understand what a cyclone is. This is an area of reduced pressure in the atmosphere with a minimum in the center. It is generated by two air currents having different temperatures. Very favorable conditions for their formation are created in the fronts. In a cyclone, air moves from its edges, where the pressure is higher, to the center with low pressure. In the center, the air is supposedly ejected upward, which allows the formation of ascending flows.
By the way the air moves in the cyclone, it is easy to determine in which hemisphere it formed. If its direction coincides with the clockwise movement, then this is definitely the Southern Hemisphere, but if it is against, it is the Northern Hemisphere.
Cyclones provoke weather events such as cloud mass, heavy precipitation, wind and temperature changes.
Tropical cyclone
From cyclones formed in temperate latitudes, cyclones are separated, which owe their origin to the tropics. They have many names. These are hurricanes (West Indies), and typhoons (east of Asia), and simply cyclones (Indian Ocean), and lassos (south of the Indian Ocean). The sizes of such vortices range from 100 to 300 miles, and the diameter of the center is from 20 to 30 miles.
The wind here accelerates to 100 km / h, and this is characteristic of the entire region of the vortex, which radically distinguishes them from cyclones formed in temperate latitudes.
A sure sign of the approach of such a cyclone is ripples in the water. Moreover, it goes in the opposite direction to the blowing wind or the wind that blew shortly before.
Anticyclone
The region of increased pressure in the atmosphere with a maximum in the center is the anticyclone. The pressure at its edges is lower, which allows air to rush from the center to the periphery. The air in the center constantly descends and diverges to the edges of the anticyclone. In this way, downward flows are formed.
The anticyclone is the opposite of the cyclone also because in the Northern Hemisphere it follows the clockwise, in the Southern it goes against it.
After reading all the above information, we can say with confidence what an anticyclone is.
An interesting property of anticyclones of temperate latitudes is that they seem to chase cyclones. In this case, a sedentary state fully characterizes the anticyclone. The weather formed by this whirlwind is cloudy and dry. There is practically no wind.
Asian anticyclone
The second name for this phenomenon is the Siberian maximum. His life expectancy is about 5 months, namely the end of autumn (November) - the beginning of spring (March). This is not one anticyclone, but several that very rarely give way to cyclones. The height of the winds reaches 3 km.
Due to the geographical environment (Asian mountains), cold air cannot disperse, which leads to its even greater cooling, the temperature near the surface drops to 60 degrees below zero.
Speaking about what is an anticyclone, we can confidently say that this is an atmospheric whirlwind of huge sizes, bringing clear weather without precipitation.
Cyclones and anticyclones. Similarities and differences
In order to better understand what is an anticyclone and a cyclone, you need to compare them. Definitions and main aspects of these phenomena we have found. The question remains of how the cyclones and anticyclones differ. The table will show this difference more clearly.
| No. | Characteristic | Cyclone | Anticyclone |
| 1. | Dimensions | 300-5000 km in diameter | Can reach 4000 km in diameter |
| 2. | Travel speed | 30 to 60 km / h | From 20 to 40 km / h (except inactive) |
| 3. | Places of origin | Everywhere except the equator | Over the ice and in the tropics |
| 4. | Causes of occurrence | Due to the natural rotation of the Earth (Coliolis force), with a deficit of air mass. | Due to the occurrence of a cyclone, with an excess of air mass. |
| 5. | Pressure | Low in the center, high at the edges. | In the center, elevated, low at the edges. |
| 6. | Direction of rotation | In the Southern Hemisphere - clockwise, in the Northern - against it. | In the South - counterclockwise, in the North - clockwise. |
| 7. | Weather | Cloudy, strong wind, rainfall. | Clear or cloudy, no wind and precipitation. |
Thus, we see the difference between cyclones and anticyclones. The table shows that these are not just opposites, the nature of their occurrence is completely different.