What is the jet stream made up of?

Answer 1

Jet streams are caused by a combination of Earth's rotation on its axis and atmospheric heating by solar radiation. The Coriolis effect describes how a planet's surface and atmosphere rotate fastest relative to each other at the planet's equator while virtually not rotating at all at the poles. While this speed difference generally has very little effect on Earth's surface, it plays an important role in atmospheric air currents because air at higher levels of the atmosphere, especially near the equator, must travel very fast to keep up with the planet's rotation. Thus there is a tendency for air at higher levels of the atmosphere to "slip" and fall behind the speed of the air below. This results in a pressure buildup behind the "slipped" air, and so some air will have to catch up by moving in the same general direction as the planet's rotation (west to east on Earth); however, this air does not follow a simple pattern but instead is also influenced by its temperature and water content compared to that of surrounding air regions. In essence, instead of the atmosphere moving along with the planet consistently, parts of the atmosphere travel faster than others via jet streams.

Jet streams form near boundaries of adjacent air masses with significant differences in temperature, such as the polar region and the warmer air towards the equator.

Answer 2

A jet stream forms high in the upper troposphere over the boundary between two air masses of different temperature. The greater the temperature difference between theair masses, the greater the air pressure difference, and the faster the wind blows in the jet stream. This river of air has wind speeds which often exceed 100 mph, and sometimes peak over 200 mph. Jet streams usually form in the winter, when there is a greater contrast in temperature between cold continental air masses and warm oceanic air masses.

But how does the temperature difference between two air masses cause the jet stream? To answer this question, it is first helpful to understand what causes pressure variations (and thus wind) at the Earth's surface. The difference in pressure that cause winds at the surface of the Earth is ultimately due to the horizontal difference in air temperature summed up (integrated) over the entire depth of the atmosphere. Because warm air is less dense (it weighs less), and cold air is more dense (it weighs more), high and low pressure areas represent, in a vertical average sense, cooler and warmer air, respectively.

Jet streams, then, occur at altitudes where the vertically integrated horizontal temperature difference between two air masses is at a maximum. This causes a maximum in the pressure 'gradient' (horizontal difference in air pressure) at that altitude. In the absense of surface friction, the turning of the earth causes the wind (which wants to flow from high pressure to low pressure) to turn to the right (in the Northern Hemisphere), so the wind flows around high and low pressure areas, rather than from high to low pressure.

Answer 3

The Jet Stream is made of a bunch of air masses.These air masses can be as windy as,260 MPH,and less then 50 MPH.That is what the Jet Stream is made of.

Answer 4

The Jet Stream is a wind, it is made of air, like any other wind.