The rotation of the Earth affects the movement of the wind on the globe because air and wind motion is created by the conversion of kinetic energy into potential energy or vice versa, which is caused by relative movement between air and ground. The rotation of the Earth adds to this process by causing an interaction between the ground, air, and wind. The rotation of the Earth impacts the flow of the wind in a variety of ways. The first result is that winds tend to originate near borders between differing densities of air masses, such as coasts and mountain ranges, or temperature gradients. Because these structures are normally directed toward the equator under normal conditions, they are also known as "pressure ridges" or "pressure belts," and because they follow longitude lines, they rotate with our globe.
Because of these impacts, the pressure ridges are sometimes oriented toward the equator, while other times they are oriented toward the North and South Poles. In essence, wind is caused by two basic factors: density variations between two air masses and/or our planet's spin.
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The rotation of the Earth affects the movement of the wind on the globe because air and wind motion is created by the conversion of kinetic energy into potential energy or vice versa, which is caused by relative movement between air and ground. The rotation of the Earth adds to this process by causing an interaction between the ground, air, and wind. The rotation of the Earth impacts the flow of the wind in a variety of ways. The first result is that winds tend to originate near borders between differing densities of air masses, such as coasts and mountain ranges, or temperature gradients. Because these structures are normally directed toward the equator under normal conditions, they are also known as "pressure ridges" or "pressure belts," and because they follow longitude lines, they rotate with our globe.
Because of these impacts, the pressure ridges are sometimes oriented toward the equator, while other times they are oriented toward the North and South Poles. In essence, wind is caused by two basic factors: density variations between two air masses and/or our planet's spin.