GEOGRAPHY

CYCLONES & JET STREAMS

Coriolis Force, Frictional Force

Cyclones
• The term cyclone refers to the circulation
around any low-pressure center,
regardless of its size or intensity.
• Hence, hurricanes and midlatitude
cyclones are two types of cyclones.
• Whereas “extratropical cyclone” is
another name for a midlatitude cyclone, the
name “tropical cyclone” is often used to
describe a hurricane.
• Anticyclones
• Most tropical cyclones form between the
latitudes of 5° and 20° over all the
tropical oceans (except in the South Atlantic and the eastern South Pacific.)
• Tropical do not develop within about 5° of the equator because the Coriolis force is too weak in
that region.

01
 GEOGRAPHY

Global Pressure Patterns and Winds (January) Global Pressure Patterns and Winds (July)

Characteristics
• Because warm surface ocean temperatures (SST>260C) are necessary for hurricane formation, hurricanes
seldom form poleward of 200 latitude nor over the cool waters of the South Atlantic and the
eastern South Pacific.
• By international agreement, a hurricane has sustained wind speeds of at least 119 kilometers (74
miles) per hour and a rotary circulation.
• Mature hurricanes average about 600 kilometers (375 miles) across, although they can range in
diameter from 100 km up to about 1500 km.
• From the outer edge of a hurricane to the center, the barometric pressure has sometimes dropped 60
millibars, from 1010 to 950 millibars.

Principal tracks and months of occurrence

Death or decay of Tropical Cyclone

Tropical Cyclone diminish in intensity whenever they :
(1) Move over ocean waters that cannot supply warm, moist tropical air;
(2) Move onto land (make Landfall) or
(3) Reach a location where the large-scale divergence flow aloft is unfavorable.

Temperate/Extra Tropical Cyclones

Temperate Cyclones
• Genesis
• Life Cycle
• Structure

02
 GEOGRAPHY

6 Stages of Temperate Cyclone

Distribution of Temperate Cyclones

• Temperate cyclones are generally found between 300 and 600 north and south in the westerly belt. As a
result temperate cyclones travel from west to east. Cyclone belt shifts towards equator during winter and
towards poles during summer.
• Unlike tropical cyclones, temperate cyclones are formed both over land and sea. Important source regions
of cyclone include

1. East of Sierra Nevada 5. West of Appalachian

2. East of Collarado 6. Iceland and Barrent sea
3. East of Canadian Rockies 7. Around Baltic sea in continental Europe
4. Great lake region

03
 GEOGRAPHY

AIRMASSES & FRONTS

What is El Nino
• El Nino, means ‘little boy’ in Spanish.
• It is a weather system which re-emerges after a gap of about two to five years in the Pacific Ocean and
its effects last for about 12 months on an average.
• El Nino leads to warming of sea surface temperatures, which in turn affects wind patterns and
triggers both floods and droughts in different parts of the world.

Thunder Storm
• The thunderstorm, a much more familiar weather event, hardly needs to be distinguished from tornadoes,
hurricanes, and midlatitude cyclones.
• Unlike the flow of air about these storms, the circulation associated with thunderstorms is characterized
by strong up-and-down movements.
• Winds in the vicinity of a thunderstorm do not follow the inward spiral of a cyclone, but they are
typically variable and gusty.
• The heat from lightening bolt raises the temperature of the surrounding air to around 27,000 C0.
• As the heated air expands, the pressure drops, the air cools, and it contracts. The result is a shock wave,
with a loud, booming burst of noise sent in every direction.

04
 GEOGRAPHY

Airmasses
• An air mass, as the term implies, is
an immense body of air, usually
1000’s kilometers or more across and
perhaps several 100 kilometers thick,
which is characterized by
homogeneous physical properties
at any given altitude. (They extend
upto TROPOPAUSE.)
• Most mid-lat/ temperate
phenomena like temperate cyclones,
blizzards, coldwaves etc. Can be
understood using the concept of
AIRMASSES.
• Areas in which air masses originate
are called source regions. The nature
of the source region largely
determines the initial characteristics
of an air mass.
• Development of Airmass requires time (7-10 days)

05
 GEOGRAPHY

Airmasses in Action

Fronts
• Fronts are boundary surfaces that separate air masses of different densities—one of which is usually
warmer and contains more moisture than the other.
• However, fronts can form between any two contrasting air masses.
• When the vast sizes of air masses are considered, the zones (fronts) that separate them are relatively
narrow and are shown as lines on weather maps.
• Frontal Interaction helps in maintaining Heat Budget of the planet Earth.
• There are 4 Types of Fronts :

Types of Fronts

Cyclones
Temperate Cyclone

06
 GEOGRAPHY

JET STREAM
Temperate Cyclone

Cyclones

Permanent Jet Streams

• Jet streams in the real atmosphere look very much like the thin ribbons of fast-moving air.
• Jet vertical thickness (order of 1 to 5 km) is much smaller than their horizontal width (order of 100 to 500 km).

07
GEOGRAPHY

08
 GEOGRAPHY

EARTHQUAKES & SEISMICITY

Earthquakes
• Earth shaking caused by a rapid
release of energy
• Seismicity (earthquake activity)
occurs due to:
1. Tecto Volcanic causes
2. A sudden change in
mineral structure
3. Meteorite impacts. 4. Nuclear detonations

• When rocks break, stored elastic strain is released.

• This energy radiates outward from the hypocenter.
• The energy, as waves, generates vibrations.

Earthquake Size
• Magnitude – The amount of energy released.
• Magnitude is measured by Richter scale.
• Magnitude scales are logarithmic. (Increases of 1 unit = 10-
fold increase in ground motion.)
• Two of the strongest earthquakes in southeastern Türkiye, of
7.8 and 7.7 magnitude, occurred on Monday 6 February, 2023.
• Intensity – The amount of energy released.
• Magnitude is measured by Mercali scale. (I-XII)

09
 GEOGRAPHY

Earthquake Occurrence
• Earthquakes linked to plate tectonic
boundaries.
• Shallow – Divergent and transform
boundaries.
• Intermediate and deep – Convergent
boundaries.
Earthquakes in continental crust.

• Continental transform faults (San

Andreas, Anatolian).
• Continental rifts (Basin and Range,
East African Rift).
• Collision zones • (Himalayas, Alps).
• Intraplate settings (ancient crustal weaknesses).
• 5% of earthquakes are not near plate boundaries.

Earthquake Prediction
• Prediction would help reduce
catastrophic losses.
• Can we predict earthquakes?
Yes and no.
D They CAN be predicted -
long-term (10-100s of years).
D They CANNOT be
predicted - short-term
(hours-months).
• Seismic hazards are mapped to
assess risk.

10
 GEOGRAPHY

Earthquake Preparedness
We can’t stop them but we can be ready for them:
• Understand what happens during an earthquake.
• Map active faults and areas likely to liquefy from shaking.
• Develop construction codes to reduce building failures.
• Regulate land use to control development.
Earthquakes do have precursors.
Clustered foreshocks: possibly…
• Water level changes in wells.
• Gases (Rn, He) in wells.
• Unusual animal behavior.

11
GEOGRAPHY

TSUNAMI
Tsunami/ Seismic Wave (Harbour Wave)
• Tsunamis result when earthquakes change
the seafloor.
• Normal faulting drops the seabed;
thrusting raises it.
• This displaces the entire volume of
overlying water.
• A giant mound (or trough) forms on the
sea surface.
• On December 26, 2004, a strong
megathrust earthquake (M9.0+) originated
in the trench to the west of N. Sumatra.
• Killed nearly 3 lakh people in 10
countries surrounding the Indian Ocean.

Tsunami vs. Wind Waves

Wind Waves Tsunami Waves
Influence the upper ~100 m. Influence entire water depth
Have wavelengths of several 10s to 100s of meters. Have wavelengths of several 10s to 100s of kilometers.
Wave height and wavelength related to windspeed. Wave height and wavelength unaffected by windspeed.
Wave velocity maximum several 10s of kph. Wave velocity maximum several 100s of kph.
Waves break in shallow water and expend all stored Waves come ashore as a raised plateau of water that
energy. pours onto the land.

12
 GEOGRAPHY

PRACTICE QUESTIONS
2015 2020
Q. “Each day is more or less the same, the Q. Consider the following statements:
morning is clear and bright with a sea 1. Jet streams occur in the Northern Hemisphere only
breeze; as the Sun climbs high in the sky, 2. Only some cyclones develop an eye
heat mounts up, dark clouds form, then 3. The temperature inside the eye of a cyclone is
rain comes with thunder and lightning. nearly 10°C lesser than that of the
But the rain is soon over.” surroundings.
Which of the following regions is described Which of the statements given above is/
in the above passage? are Correct?
(a) Savannah (a) 1 only
(b) Equatorial (b) 2 and 3 only
(c) Monsoon (c) (2 only
(d) Mediterranean (d) 1 and 3 only

2019 2015
Q. Why are dewdrops not formed on a Q. In the South Atlantic and South-Eastern
cloudy night? Pacific regions in tropical latitudes,
(a) Clouds absorb the radiation released from cyclones do not originate. What is the
the Earth’s surface. reason?
(a) Sea surface temperatures are low.
(b) Clouds reflect back the Earth’s radiation.
(b) Inter-tropical Convergence Zone seldom
(c) The Earth’s surface would have a low occurs
temperature on cloudy nights. (c) Coriolis force is too weak.
(d) Clouds deflect the blowing wind to ground level. (d) Absence of land in those regions.

2018 2015
Q. Consider the following statements: Q. Consider the following statements:

1. The Earth’s magnetic field has reversed every 1. The winds which blow between 300 N and
few hundred thousand years 600 S latitudes throughout the year are
2. When the Earth was created more than 4000 known as westerlies.
million years ago, there was 54% oxygen and 2. The moist air masses that cause winter rains
no carbon dioxide in the NorthWestern region of India are part
3. When living organisms originated, they of westerlies.
modified the early atmosphere of the Earth
Which of the statements given above is/
Which of the statements given above is/
are correct?
are correct?
(a) 1 only
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only (b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only (c) Both 1 and 2
(d) 1, 2 and 3 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

13
GEOGRAPHY

2017
Q. With reference to ‘Indian Ocean Dipole Q. On an average ......................... percentage of
(IOD)’ sometimes mentioned in the news insolation is directly reflected to outer space.
while forecasting Indian monsoon, which (a) 14
of the following statements is/are correct?
(b) 17
1. IOD phenomenon is characterised by a
(c) 35
difference in sea surface temperature
between the tropical Western Indian Ocean (d) 26
and the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean. Q. The pressure and wind belts shift towards
2. An IOD phenomenon can influence an El the ............................... in summer.
Nino’s impact on the monsoon.
(a) Equator
Select the correct answer using the code (b) Poles
given below:
(c) East
(a) 1 only
(d) West
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2 Q. The latitudinal extent between 37º North
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 to 37º South is the region of...........................

2018 (a) Energy deficit

Q. During a thunderstorm, the thunder in (b) Energy surplus
the skies is produced by the: (c) Constant energy
1. meeting of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky (d) Both (a) and (c)
2. lightning that separates the nimbus clouds
3. violent upward movement of air and water Q. Approximately 99% atmospheric mass is
particles concentrated below .........................
kilometers.
Select the correct answer using the
codes given below: (a) 32
(a) 1 only (b) 112
(b) 2 and 3 (c) 82
(c) 1 and 3 (d) 52
(d) None
Q. When the Sun shines vertically above the
2020 Tropic of Cancer it is then
Q. Consider the following statements: ............................... in Northern Hemisphere

1. Jet streams occur in the Northern Hemisphere (a) Spring Equinox

only (b) Autumn Equinox
2. Only some cyclones develop an eye (c) Winter solstice
3. The temperature inside the eye of a cyclone is (d) Summer solstice
nearly 10°C lesser than that of the
surroundings. Q. Greenhouse effect is the result of the
atmosphere’s absorption of .........................
Which of the statements given above is/ wave radiations emitted by earth.
are Correct?
(a) 1 only (a) Short
(b) 2 and 3 only (b) Long
(c) 2 only (c) Transverse
(d) 1 and 3 only (d) Longitudinal

14