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What is the difference between the Gulf and jet stream?
The Polar Jet Stream has the greatest affect on the United States is found below the North Pole. The Gulf Stream is a powerful current in the Atlantic Ocean. Winds push water in the Atlantic towards the East coast of the United States.
How are the two jet streams in a hemisphere different?
Jet streams are stronger in winter in the northern and southern hemispheres, because that’s when air temperature differences that drive them tend to be most pronounced. The polar-front jet stream forms at about 60 degrees latitude in both hemispheres, while the subtropical jet stream forms at about 30 degrees.
What would happen if the Gulf Stream and jet stream stopped?
But it’s not just Europe and the UK that would suffer – a collapse of the Gulf Stream would have dire consequences around the world. It would disrupt monsoon seasons and rains in places like India, South America and West Africa, affecting crop production and creating food shortages for billions of people.
Why is the Gulf Stream slowing down?
There’s lots of evaporation, so it becomes saltier and saltier as it’s travelling through. And that level of salinity is really important because when the water is cold and salty it becomes very dense. So that’s what makes it sink to the bottom of the ocean basins.
How many jet streams?
There are FOUR jet streams on Earth in total. Each hemisphere (north and south) has two primary jet streams – a polar and a subtropical.
Which direction does the jet stream flow?
Jet streams are air currents found in the tropopause which is the transition between troposphere and stratosphere. Streams of air that flow horizontally through the upper layers of the troposphere from west to east direction are westerly flow of jet streams.
What causes jet stream winds?
Specifically, the jet stream is caused by the meeting of air masses just under the tropopause where winds are the strongest. When two air masses of different densities meet here, the pressure created by the different densities causes winds to increase.
What is winter jet stream?
During the winter, a second jet stream forms in the lower latitudes. It separates the air mass over the U.S. from warmer air masses rising from south of the equator. This is called the subtropical jet stream. Within the streams of air, currents travel at varying speeds but are greatest at the core.