Why do land breezes occur during the night and sea breezes during the day?

Answer 1

First: what is wind? Winds are caused by differences in air pressure. These differences can be caused by changing atmospheric conditions, such as conditions between day and night. Air in an area of high pressure will move to an area of lower pressure in order to reach equilibrium. This horizontal movement of air is wind. Wind is named for the direction it comes from and not to where its headed.

During the day, land is warmed at a faster rate than water (since water has a higher specific heat and therefore requires more time to be heated). The air over land is heated as well, and rises in the atmosphere.

At the same time, cooler air from the sea moves to replace the rising warm air. This is because the rising, warmer air leaves the land and creates an area of low air pressure, while air over the sea is in an area of higher air pressure.

Simultaneously, the warm air from the land cools and drops away from the land.

This air raises the air pressure over the sea. The winds moving to replace risen air from land are the sea breeze.

At night, the opposite process occurs. Since water has a higher specific heat than land, water retains its heat for a longer period of time. Thus, the sea is warmer than the land at night. Warm air from the sea rises, becomes colder and denser, falling over the land. Cooled air replaces risen air from the sea. This wind is the land breeze.

Answer 2

Sea breezes and all other winds blow from more atmospheric pressure to less atmospheric pressure. Land heats up and cools down faster than water. During the day, the land is heated up, the hot air rises, and cooler air flows in from the sea to take its place.

Answer 3

The land cools faster than the water.

During the warm up of the day the breeze is inward toward the land because the land is heating the air above it and it is rising.

At night the land is cooling and the air drops so it goes out.

Answer 4

A sea breeze is a constant wind coming off the ocean onto the land. During the day, the ground is hotter over the land than the sea. Hot air rises and is replaced by the cooler air that used to be over the sea. The replacement of air is what is felt as wind or a sea breeze.

During the night you are likely to have a land breeze as the air above the sea is warmer than the air above the land.

Answer 5

During the night, the sea loses comparatively less heat than the land. As it's relatively warmer, it warms the air above it causing it to rise. As a consequence, cooler air from the land moves in to take its place.

The reverse takes place during the day when the land warms up quicker hence is relatively warmer than the sea.

Answer 6

In the day time, the land gets warmer than the sea, so above the land is formed a warm air front which rises into the atmosphere, creating a low pressure front beneath it. The colder air from above the sea goes to take it's place, movement called breeze. At night, the land gets colder faster than the sea, which still keeps the day's heat. So the process is reversed

Answer 7

The sun heats the land - which, in turn heats the air above it. As the warm air rises - cold air is 'pulled' into the area from above the sea to equalise the air pressure. It's the movement of ai that we feel as wind.