Maritime tropical air mass
Also called: mT · Topic: Air Masses, Fronts, Cyclones and Thunderstorms · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 9 "Atmospheric Circulation and Weather Systems"
Meaning
A maritime tropical (mT) air mass is warm, moist and unstable. "Unstable" means the air rises easily and builds tall rain clouds. It forms over warm tropical and subtropical oceans, where a lot of water evaporates into the warm air. Where mT air moves, it brings humid heat and heavy rain.
Example
In summer, warm, moist air from the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal flows into India. It brings the monsoon rains, starting with the Kerala coast. Similarly, mT air from the Gulf of Mexico brings humid heat and heavy rain to the eastern United States.
Don't confuse with
- Continental tropical (cT) air mass: cT air is also hot, but it forms over deserts. So it is dry and brings heat waves, not rain.
Related concepts
- Air mass
- Source region
- Continental tropical air mass
- Maritime polar air mass
- Continental polar air mass
- Continental arctic air mass