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Article: Air Masses and Fronts
- Article from:
- World of Earth Science
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Air masses and fronts
An air mass is an extensive body of air that has a relatively homogeneous
temperature
and moisture content over a significant altitude. Air masses typically cover areas of a few hundred, thousand, or million square kilometers. A front is the boundary at which two air masses of different temperature and moisture content meet. The role of air masses and fronts in the development of
weather
systems was first appreciated by the Norwegian father and son team of Vilhelm and Jacob Bjerknes in the 1920s. Today, these two phenomena are still studied intensively as predictors of future weather patterns.
Air masses form when a body of air comes to rest over an
area
...