Classes and procedures used to classify airmasses
Airmass is large volume of air in the atmosphere that is mostly uniform in terms of temperature and moisture. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adopt the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to latitude and their continental or maritime source regions. If the source region is the water, the dew point will be higher and the water mass is considered maritime . If the source region is over land, the air will be relatively dry, so the air mass is considered continental . There are four temperature characteristics defining the airmass source region, from the coldest to warmest Arctic or antarctic Polar Tropical Equatoria l Mansoon Therefore the airmass that develops over the northern Canada is called a continental polar airmass and it is cold and dry. One that form over the indian ocean is called a maritime tropical airmass and is warm and humid. Airmass are classified in the weather maps using two o...