i post somewhat rambling, disordered comments, so apologies for the mess ... and sometimes i edit them later.Zekoslav wrote: ↑08 Jun 2019 13:39 So, I've got another climate question (maybe I'm just overthinking this). I've got this rough sketch of a planet:
All I'm entirely certain about is that there will be a circumpolar current around the north pole and a circum-equatorial current which doesn't exist on Earth. I'm not quite sure how the gyre in the northern temperate region will interact with the circum-polar and equatorial currents, though, and neither I'm sure what will happen in the ocean between the two continents.
The northern continent looks bound to be very humid, unless there's a serious rain shadow involved (and I plan not to have one). I wonder what the climate on it's southern coast will be like. It's common knowledge that east coasts have a humid subtropical, and west coasts a mediterranean climate around that latitude... but what about the center? They way the continents are spaced, it looks like there may be a permanent belt of high pressure south of the northern continent. This would likely cause northward winds when the continent becomes low pressure in summer... but would these winds carry moisture, or would the southern coast be more arid?
Your map is almost exactly identical to my own planet Teppala. Right down to the little continent on top, big one on the bottom (and nothing else anywhere), the equatorial current, and the shapes of the landmasses. Amazing coincidence, really, so i feel i should post something here but .... even though I love weather, i prefer Teppala's climate to change rapidly as the planet switches from one orbital pattern to another, triggering mass population movements .... so I dont really follow the rules that govern the climate of Earth.
the south coast of the northern continent is one of the focus points of my world, and i agree from the looks of the map it will be humid but probably not too hot. the water temp will determine a lot .... how hot is the sea on your planet? are there mountains anywhere nearby? you can play around here. if the sea is hot, there will be a monsoon ... weaker than Asia's but stronger than America's. however, the monsoon on the south continent will be much, much stronger. You can get pockets of warmer/cooler water here and there that can make some areas drier than one might otherwise expect. I think even deep-sea topography can affect this .... shallow seas get hotter than deep ones. c.f. https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/i ... 52_lrg.jpg and note that the yellow is, oddly enough, the hottest temperature. so if you have shallow sea near the 0-30N area (perhaps due to the continents being united in the past?) the sea water might be extra hot, and therefore very rainy summers even on the small continent, but especially on the big one.
its worth adding that while naively, one might expct a small continent to be wetter than a big one, this is not always true, because the larger continent will be hotter in summer and therefore have a much greater pull during its monsoon season. thats why africa's rainforest isnt that big compared to S America's, and why even the lowlands of India get lots of rain in summer (and the highlands much more). and why pacific & caribbean islands arent as wet as one might think, even very close to the equator.
so 3 basic questions that might affect things:
1) are there mtn ranges near the coasts?
2) how deep is the sea between the continents?
3) is the avg temperature of this planet comparable to Earth? at least near the areas youre focused on?
more later if i can find time.