Class Response: Global and Local Winds

All winds are caused by the uneven heating of the earth's atmosphere, however there are more than one kinds of winds. There are global winds which include the doldrums, the horse latitudes, the trade winds, the polar easterlies, and the prevailing westerlies. Then, there are local winds. The doldrums are located at zero degrees latitude, or the equator. There is very little wind here and so it makes it difficult for the sailors to travel in these parts. In fact, many actually get stuck in the doldrums. Also, horse latitudes are where the sailors needed to heave their horses off of their boat because they weighed them down too heavily when they ran out of food. Moreover, the trade winds are good for sailors, they are steady with clear skies. Contrarily, prevailing westerlies are stronger winds, and the polar easterlies are cold and steady winds. Unlike local winds however, all of these winds blow in a certain direction. Although, they do not blow from north to south or east to west directly, they are slightly curved corresponding to the rotation of the earth on its axis. This is called the coreolis effect. This is what makes local winds different from global winds; the fact that they can blow in any direction as apposed to global wind which blow in specific directions.