As an air parcel aloft moves northward from the equator, it moves closer to the Earth's axis of rotation. According to the principle of conservation of angular momentum, which of the following statements explains the motion of the air parcel?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

As an air parcel moves closer to the Earth's axis of rotation (moving northward from the equator), it conserves its angular momentum by increasing its speed. This is because the radius of its circular path decreases, and to conserve angular momentum (which is the product of the velocity and the radius of rotation), the velocity must increase if the radius decreases.

As an Air Parcel Aloft Moves Northward from the Equator