Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Climate Comparison: Istanbul, Turkey and Buenos Aires, Argentina

For an interesting climate comparison I tried to find a location with similar latitudes but in opposite hemispheres. Buenos Aires seemed like the best because it is also near the coast and shares similar characteristics.

(Map of Buenos Aires and Istanbul, Source: Google Maps)


For the Köppen Geiger Classification both Buenos Aires and Istanbul have a C, or Mediterranean, climate. This makes sense because both are in the midlatitudes and near water. However, Istanbul is a Csa classification and Buenos Aires is Cfa. Both share the same temperature rating: "a" for the hot summers but they differ in precipitation. Istanbul has the "s" for dry summers where Buenos Aires has an "f" rating for fully humid. This can be attributed to the fact that Buenos Aires is slightly closer to the equator and that means different air mass circulation.

(Air masses and circulation patterns, source: Islandnet.com)


The image above shows the air circulation and patterns around the globe. This shows the source of Buenos Aires' copious precipitation and Istanbul's drier climate. Although they are close to the same latitudes, Buenos Aires is on the eastern side of the South American continent and there is a Maritime Tropical air mass right off the coast the circulates counter clockwise (Because it's in the Southern Hemisphere) and that brings all that moist ocean air right to the region. On the other hand, when you look at Istanbul you see that it is still getting Tropical air but it's Continental Tropical because it has been circulating over Africa. Also, because Istanbul is in the Northern Hemisphere the air circulates in the opposite direction: clockwise over the Mediterranean Sea.

(Another view of differing air masses, source: rst.dsf.nasa.gov)


Information Sources:

Climates and Climatology Lecture, Fred Chambers, GEOG 3232
http://buenosaires-dylanlewan.blogspot.com/

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