What is monsoons definition of geography. What are monsoons and trade winds in geography? Which direction do the summer monsoons blow?

Under monsoons understand fairly stable air currents of a seasonal nature, changing direction from winter to summer to the opposite or close to the opposite.

The concept of a monsoon is always the concept of a pair of monsoons (one cannot, for example, speak of a summer monsoon if there is no corresponding winter monsoon).

It is generally believed that the occurrence of monsoons is due to seasonal temperature contrasts between land and sea, and that the winter monsoon is always dry and the summer monsoon is always wet (brings precipitation). As S.P. Khromov showed, such ideas cannot be considered as unconditionally correct.

The change of monsoons obviously depends on the change in the pressure regime, but the latter is not connected only with thermal differences between continents and oceans. In this regard, one should distinguish between tropical and extratropical monsoons.

Tropical monsoons are due to thermal differences between the summer and winter hemispheres; the distribution of land and sea only reinforces, complicates or stabilizes this phenomenon. In January, an almost continuous chain of anticyclones is located in the northern hemisphere: permanent subtropical ones over the oceans, seasonal ones over the continents. At the same time, the equatorial depression shifted there lies in the southern hemisphere. As a result, air is transported from the northern hemisphere to the southern. In July, with an inverse ratio of baric systems, air is transferred across the equator from the southern hemisphere to the northern. Thus, tropical monsoons are nothing more than trade winds, which, in some strip close to the equator, acquire a new property - a seasonal change in the general direction. With the help of tropical monsoons, air is exchanged between the hemispheres, and not between land and sea, especially since in the tropics the thermal contrast between land and sea is generally small. So, for example, the monsoon current, which originates in an anticyclone over northern Australia and goes to Asia, is directed, in essence, from one continent to another; the ocean in this case serves only as an intermediate territory. Monsoons in Africa are the exchange of air between the land of the same continent, lying in different hemispheres, and over part Pacific Ocean The monsoon blows from the oceanic surface of one hemisphere to the oceanic surface of the other.

The area of ​​distribution of tropical monsoons lies entirely between 20 ° N. sh. and 15°S sh. She covers tropical Africa north of the equator, East Africa south of the equator, southern Arabia, Indian Ocean to Madagascar in the west and to northern Australia in the east, the Hindustan Peninsula, Indochina, Indonesia (without Sumatra), eastern China, and in South America Colombia with neighboring countries.

Another thing is extratropical monsoons, in the formation of which the thermal contrast between land and sea plays a decisive role. Here monsoons occur between seasonal anticyclones and depressions, some of which lie on the mainland, others on the ocean. Yes, the winter monsoon Far East there is a consequence of the interaction of the anticyclone over Asia (with the center in Mongolia) and the permanent Aleutian depression; summer - a consequence of an anticyclone over the northern part of the Pacific Ocean and a depression over the extratropical part of the Asian continent. At the same time, all these depressions and anticyclones are not some special formations, but are associated with cyclonic activity; consequently, the monsoon must be considered here as a succession of air transfers in the course of this cyclonic activity.

Extratropical monsoons are best expressed in the Far East (including Kamchatka), the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, Japan, Alaska, and the coast of the Arctic Ocean.

Thus, monsoons do not have an independent origin. They are always only a special form of either trade winds or cyclonic activity and, therefore, not only do they not differ in nature from trade winds or cyclonic currents, but, on the contrary, are genetically related to them in the closest way.

Monsoons create characteristic mode weather, but not everywhere the same: the winter monsoon is not always dry, the summer is not always wet. And in the Malay Archipelago, and in Japan, and in the Far East, the climate is monsoon; In the first precipitation are evenly distributed throughout the year, winters in Japan are not at all dry, and in the Far East there is a very large contrast between dry winters and rich summers.

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The word "monsoon" comes from the Arabic word "māvsim", which translates as "season". Monsoons are called steady winds that abruptly change their direction due to the change of season twice a year. In summer, monsoons blow from the ocean, and in winter, on the contrary, from land.

Below are the characteristics and locations of the monsoons.

Where and why does the monsoon blow?

The monsoon is characteristic of tropical regions and coastal countries, which are characterized by dry winters and high humidity V summer time. The most common monsoons in the Indian Ocean basin, they are mainly due to uneven heating of land and water, that is, due to temperature differences. Also, the reason for the formation of the monsoon is the seasonal interactions of areas of low and high atmospheric pressure.

Monsoon Characteristics

The monsoon causes a sharp change in the weather, in autumn and spring the wind becomes less stable. Blowing from the sea, the monsoon brings rain, at which time the rivers can overflow their banks. By the way, the main difference between the climate of India and the climate of Russia is the presence of the monsoon wind that comes from the Indian Ocean. The downpour can go on for 2-3 hours, and then abruptly stop - the clouds will disperse, and the bright sun will appear in the sky again.

In the tropics, monsoons blow at a speed of 2-4 km per hour in winter period, and in summer - 5-7 km per hour.

We invite you to embark on an unusual journey. Let us follow the winds of the seasons today. "Mausim" - in Arabic - the season, the season, it was from there that the word "monsoon" came from. The winds of the seasons that blow from opposite directions in winter and summer.

Let's go first consider the situation in the summer: there is a lot of sun and it heats the land to a greater extent. But why? Everything is not so complicated, firstly, water has the property that it is difficult to heat it and difficult to cool. Water, of all substances, is the most difficult to heat, so they say that its heat capacity is one. The volumetric heat capacity of air is 0.000307, ​​i.e., in order to heat the air, it is necessary to apply 3257 times less heat than is required for water. Conversely, it is 3257 times easier to cool air than water.

Plus, water, unlike land, is also transparent, which means that the sun's rays penetrate the water column and warm it up, and not just the surface layers.

So, we settled on the fact that in summer the sun heats the land more than the ocean. Therefore, over land, the air is heated and rises, leaving behind an area low pressure. Over the ocean, the air is colder and, therefore, is located closer to the earth, and here a region arises high pressure. That's almost all!!! A holy place is never empty and cold air is sent from the ocean to land to fill the "empty" space. Or, in other words, high pressure pushes air into areas of lower pressure.

Why is the air humid in summer? Here, too, everything is simple, he came from the ocean, and there is a lot of water 🙂 In summer, under the influence of the sun, it evaporates and saturates the air.

Now consider, what happens in winter. Here the sun is already small and it does not play important role. But again, everything happens thanks to amazing properties water discussed earlier. Behind long summer, the water has absorbed a lot of heat, and in winter it begins to slowly give it away, while the air over the land cools almost as soon as the sun goes down. Therefore, now, all the air that is above the ocean is heated due to the heat accumulated in the water, and the air above the land cools down without the sun.

And again, where the air is warm, the pressure is low, where it is cold, the pressure is high. And the wind blows from an area of ​​high pressure to an area of ​​low pressure. Those. in our case, in winter, monsoon winds blow from land to the ocean, and I think it’s clear why they are dry :-).

For a better understanding, see also the video: “Why does the wind blow?”

Monsoon climate areas.

Summer monsoons come from the sea and bring rain and dampness, in winter the wind blows from the land and gives dry and clear weather.

India is a classic monsoon territory. It has long been a natural phenomenon known to navigators, because the correct change of winds was very important for shipping.

What does spring mean to us? Awakening of nature, rebirth. The beginning of the rainy summer monsoon carries the same meaning on the Indian mainland. Many poets sang this season in their works. The South Asian monsoon captures, in addition to India, Indo-China, and then China.

And finally, the Australian monsoons cover the northern part of Australia and the Malay Archipelago. These are the territories of the country of monsoons.

Modern Russian physical map world with sea currents. In particular, you can find the monsoon current enveloping India.

And now, we offer to get acquainted with humid and variable-humid monsoon forests.

Permanently wet forests. Huge humidity and always hot air temperature. vegetable and animal world very rich. These forests are impenetrable jungle, the presence of several tiers of plants that never shed their leaves. Animals are usually small in size, since large individuals could hardly make their way through difficult areas. For humans, these forests are also difficult. Even today you can find places untouched and unexplored by us.

Variably moist forests. Precipitation is not all year round but only during the rainy season. Plants have to shed their leaves to protect themselves from excessive evaporation. Animals also have to adapt, so the diversity of flora and fauna here is inferior to constantly wet forests.

Unfortunately, these forests are increasingly threatened by our civilization. And the restoration of the former species requires a very long time. Therefore, it is worth thinking again about how to preserve this wonderful splendor of nature.

And finally, I suggest watching a video film: BBC: The Natural World. Monsoon / Natural World. Monson.

A pioneer must always be ready. I realized this when I swam out of the downpour wet to ... in short, completely wet. Since then, my motto has been: “Always check the weather forecast, always study the climate of the place you are going to, and always have an umbrella and a bag in which you can wrap valuable electronic devices.” In places where the monsoons blow, this is especially true.

Monsoon - changeable wind

Winds are not very associated with constancy, but monsoons are a separate story. They paradoxically combine both variability and constancy. These winds blow in winter and summer, but in opposite (or close to opposite) directions! In summer - from the ocean to the continent, in winter - vice versa. Such frills are associated with a change atmospheric pressure during a year.

When leaving, the monsoons always promise to return. These winds are not an accidental phenomenon, but part of an established weather pattern. However, even monsoons sometimes have interruptions, especially within one season.

In spring and autumn, the monsoons have a "vacation", at this time other winds blow, much less stable.

With the monsoons come heavy rains. And these are not the kind of rains under which it is pleasant to walk. They will please only those who like to take a shower, but do not want to pay for water.

Warm rains and icy winds

Most often they talk about the monsoons of tropical and subtropical latitudes with their heavy rains. But there are monsoons in temperate latitudes. And there they are such that it would be better if it rained, by God.

The East Asian monsoon affects part of the Russian Far East. In summer it brings warm and wet air, but in winter East Asian monsoon winds:

• bring cold and dry weather;
• cause severe blizzards;
• in some regions they can "lower" the temperature down to -40 ° C.

Brr, when I imagine such a weather, and even with an icy wind, I already cringe.

Typhoons bring the same Asian monsoons to Japan.

Terrible winds, but still necessary for nature and man. After all, monsoons are not only unpleasant weather, but also a full part of the climate and ecosystem.

Husband. intermittent, urgent constant wind on eastern seas blowing half a year in one direction and in the opposite direction; sowing east monsoon, dry, April 15 to October 15; southwest monsoon, wet, the rest of the year. Monsoon strip, where the monsoon ... ... Dictionary Dalia

monsoon- a, m. mousson m., it. monsone, eng. monsoon arab. Wind that periodically changes its prevailing direction: blowing from land to sea in winter, and from sea to land in summer. BAS 1. Trade winds, trade winds, Mouzons and monsoons. 1788. Kush. SMS. Monson... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

MONSOON- French mousson, since. monzao, Spanish monzon, Malay. musim, east ind. mausim, mausam, from Ar. mausim, definite time, from wasama, to determine. Periodic winds in the Indian Ocean. Explanation 25000 foreign words that came into use in ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

MONSOON- MUSSON, monsoon, husband. (from Arabic mausin season) (geographic). Wind that periodically changes its direction depending on the season and blows from land to sea in winter and from sea to land in summer. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

MONSOON- MUSSON, ah, husband. A steady seasonal wind that blows from land to sea in winter and from sea to land in summer. Tropical monsoons. | adj. monsoon, oh, oh. Monsoon showers. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

monsoon- noun, number of synonyms: 2 wind (262) harmatan (2) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

monsoon- Winds that blow with a certain regularity in different seasons of the year due to seasonal changes in pressure over the mainland and adjacent ocean. → Fig. 213, p. 468 ... Geography Dictionary

Monsoon (KA)- Geo IK spacecraft This term has other meanings, see Monsoon (meanings). Monsoon (Geo IK, GRAU index: 11Ф666) is a series of devices that are the main element of the space geophysical complex. The complex provided ... ... Wikipedia

MONSOON- (from Arab, mausim season) large-scale air flow with a corresponding weather complex. A seasonal wind that occurs at the border of the sea and the continent as a result of their unequal heating and changes its direction twice a year to ... ... Dictionary of winds

Monsoon- (monsoon) Monsoon, south wind. and other parts of Asia, especially along the coast of the Indian Ocean, blowing from the southwest in summer (wet monsoon = wet monsoon) and from the northeast in winter (dry monsoon = dry monsoon). The concept of M. is also used to determine a strong ... ... Countries of the world. Dictionary

Books

• Monsoon. The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Politics, Robert Kaplan. As the United States strengthened and entered the world stage, the initial projection of their interests was Europe and East Asia. During the 20th century, the United States fought wars, hot and cold, to prevent... Buy for 652 rubles
• Monsoon The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Politics, Kaplan R. As the United States strengthened and entered the world arena, Europe and East Asia were the initial projection of their interests. During the 20th century, the United States fought wars, hot and cold, to prevent...