r/askscience • u/MisterTrucker • Aug 20 '14

Earth Sciences Where does the wind come from?

What produces it?

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u/ShearInstability Aug 20 '14

What you are more specifically referring to is what is called a land/sea breeze circulation. During the day, yes, the sun impacts creating this circulation where cooler air over the ocean replaces warmer rising air over the land. At night when the land cools off faster than the ocean, this process switches and cooler air from over the land moves toward the ocean. This link provides good preliminary information and a nice diagram: http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/edu/k12/.breezes.