Case study UK

UK sea breeze

Britain’s south coast

A sunny afternoon can bring cooler air inland from the sea as the land warms faster than nearby water. The sea breeze is a local response to unequal heating.

Sunlit shingle beach and coastal buildings at Southsea, Portsmouth. — Southsea, Portsmouth. Land and sea warm at different rates in sunshine, creating conditions that can support a sea breeze. A photograph of the coast alone does not measure its wind direction.

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Location: 50.80°, -1.10°

As land heats, the air above it warms and a pressure pattern develops that can draw cooler marine air inland near the surface. Rising air over land and return flow aloft complete a simplified circulation.

Use the thermal-circulation model to compare daytime and nighttime heating. Then consider why a strong background wind, cloud or an irregular coastline may prevent the neat circulation shown in the model.

Open this state in the lab

Exam-style question

Draw and label a sea-breeze circulation for a calm, sunny afternoon on the south coast.

Teacher hint: Connect warmer land with rising air and onshore surface flow, then complete the circulation with a return branch aloft.

Process labs

Thermal circulation Wind, PGF and Coriolis

Sources

Met Office sea breezes