Gravity: Weather, Pollution & Ocean Tides
- Sylvia Rose
- Apr 2
- 4 min read
Gravity influences ocean tides and shapes the weather patterns. It attracts objects toward one another, causing swollen seas, cloud formation, storms, and pollution intensity in low-lying regions.
Tides: Gravity & Inertia
Isaac Newton (1643-1727) proves the Moon's gravitational pull exerts a force on Earth. It's strongest on the side facing the Moon and weakest on the opposite side.
On the part of Earth closest to the Moon the ocean is pulled more forcefully, causing water to swell and bulge, thus high tide. As the Moon pulls the Earth, the Earth itself is also being pulled towards the Moon.
The water on the far side has a lag, but also creates a bulge and high tide.
Two high tides and two low tides happen every 24 hours and 50 minutes, with the extra 50 minutes due to Moon's orbit around the Earth.
Despite its distance, the Sun also influences tides due to its massive size. When the Sun, Earth, and Moon align, during new and full moons,, their gravitational forces combine, causing especially high tides or spring tides.
When the Sun and Moon are at right angles to each other, during first and third quarter moons, their gravitational forces partially cancel each other out. This causes weaker tides, or neap tides.
The Bay of Fundy on the east coast of Canada, has experiences some of the highest tides globally, reaching up to 16 m (52 ft). This comes from the gravitational effects of the moon combined with the bay's unique shape.
Rising sea levels due to climate change can alter local gravitational forces. This can control tidal ranges and weather patterns. Gravity is a strong factor in maintaining ecological balance.
Gravity & Weather
Gravity holds the atmosphere in place, preventing it from dissipating into space. Without gravity, Earth wouldn't have an atmosphere to regulate temperature, block radiation and support known life.
Gravity influences movement of air, creates weather formations. Warm air rises and cools, creating clouds as vapors condense on tiny particles or aerosols.
Gravity pulls down cooler air, resulting in a cyclical motion, creating various weather conditions. Atmospheric gravity waves can help create tornados or intensify those existing.
Pollution, especially air pollution, responds to the forces of gravity. Air pollution is denser in low-lying areas and valleys, often seen as smog.
Smog brings its own effects to weather and health. It traps heat, alters rainfall and reduces sunlight necessary for plant photosynthesis. Cities such as Cairo in the Nile River valley, have rising smog problems.
Atmospheric Pressure
Gravity pulls air molecules towards the Earth's surface, creating atmospheric pressure. Differences in air pressure drive wind as air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure.
Pressure systems interact with gravity. Low-pressure areas form when warm air rises, creating a vacuum to draws in cooler air, often causing storms.
High-pressure systems result from cold air sinking and exerting force on the ground. These systems shape wind directions and storm activities.
A forming low-pressure system creates storms and increased precipitation. Hurricanes, powerful low-pressure systems, produce over 25 cm of rain.
Convection Currents
The sun heats the Earth unevenly, causing some areas to warm more than others. Differential heating creates temperature differences. Warmer air is less dense and rises while cooler air is denser and sinks.
The rising and sinking motion, driven by buoyancy and gravity, creates convection currents. These contribute to cloud formation, wind patterns and thunderstorms.
Gravity shapes ocean currents, affecting global climate patterns. The Gulf Stream carries warm water from the tropics to northern latitudes, passing through regions along the eastern United States and European coasts.
The current affects temperatures and weather patterns along the way. Ocean currents distribute heat to climates in regions as far as 1,500 km away.
Orographic Lift
As air is forced to rise over mountains it cools and condenses, forming clouds and often precipitation on the windward side of the mountain. Gravity pulls cooler, denser air downwards after it passes over the mountain.
Storm Formation
Gravity creates the vertical development of thunderstorms and hurricanes. As warm, moist air rises rapidly, it cools and condenses, releasing heat to further fuels the upward motion.
This continuous process, driven by buoyancy and regulated by gravity, can create towering storm clouds. These release torrential rain, strong winds and possibly tornadoes.
Gravity affects the shape of raindrops. Small raindrops are nearly spherical, but as they grow larger, air resistance and gravity distort them into a flattened, pancake-like shape.
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