earth science

Sirocco

Sirocco is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sirocco rather than just read about it. In short: Sirocco ( sih-RO-koh) or scirocco is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names Sirocco derives from ‏šurūq‎ (Arabic: شروق), verbal noun of ‏šaraqa‎, related to the East, aš-šarq.

Key takeaways

Sirocco belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sirocco to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sirocco from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sirocco ( sih-RO-koh) or scirocco is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season.

Names Sirocco derives from ‏šurūq‎ (Arabic: شروق), verbal noun of ‏šaraqa‎, related to the East, aš-šarq. Various names for this wind in other languages include:

Italian: scirocco Sardinian: bentu de subra Sicilian: sciroccu Spanish: siroco or marin French: sirocco Catalan: xaloc Maltese: xlokk Occitan: siròc or eisseròc Hungarian: sirokkó Greek: σορόκος, romanized: sorókos, or σιρόκος romanized: sirókos Albanian: jugu (south) or shiroku Serbo-Croatian: jugo, lit. 'southern' (Serbian Cyrillic: југо), in Croatia rarely širok (широк) Slovene: jugo, lit. 'southern' Ligurian: sciöco or mainasso Libyan Arabic: قبلي, romanized: qibliyy, which means "coming from the Qibla" Egyptian Arabic: خمسين, romanized: Ḫamsīn, which means 'fifty' ('fifty-day wind') Tunisian Arabic: شلوق, romanized: šlūq, probably from شروق šurūq with the same meaning as šarqiyya; or شهيلي šhīliyy Hebrew: שרקיע, romanized: šarqiyya, from Arabic. Also חמסין, Ḫamsīn, again from Arabic. Moroccan Arabic: شرقي, romanized: šarquiyy, lit. 'eastern', pronounced širguī (see: Chergui) The Roman poet Horace refers to the sirocco at Trevico in Apulia as Atabulus (a Messapic word) in his account of his journey to Brundisium in 37 BC.

Development Siroccos arise from warm, dry, tropical air masses that are pulled northward by low-pressure cells moving eastward across the Mediterranean Sea, with the wind originating in the Arabian or Sahara deserts. The hotter, drier continental air mixes with the cooler, wetter air of the maritime cyclone, and the counter-clockwise circulation of the low propels the mixed air across the southern coasts of Europe.

Effects

The sirocco causes dusty dry conditions along the northern coast of Africa, storms in the Mediterranean Sea, and warm wet weather in Southern Europe. The sirocco does not affect other parts of Europe. The sirocco's duration may be as short as half a day or may last several days. While passing over the Mediterranean Sea, the sirocco picks up moisture; this results in rainfall in the southern part of Italy, known locally as "blood rain" due to the red sand mixed with the falling rain. Sirocco is commonly perceived as causing unease and an irritable mood in people. In addition, many people attribute health problems to the wind, either because of the heat and dust brought from African coastal regions, or because of the cool dampness further north in Europe. The dust in the sirocco winds can cause abrasion in mechanical devices and penetrate buildings. Sirocco winds with speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph; 54 kn) are most common during autumn and spring. They reach a peak in March and in November. When combined with a rising tide, the sirocco can cause the acqua alta phenomenon in the Venetian Lagoon. This wind also has an impact on fishing. For example, the anchovies caught in the Gulf of Trieste, near Barcola, which are in great demand as a delicacy, are caught only in a sirocco. In cold winds, like the bora, the fish disappear into the Adriatic.

See also Foehn wind – Dry downslope wind in the lee of mountains Notus – South wind god in Greek mythology Santa Ana winds – California weather phenomenon

References

External links

Winds of the world Local Mediterranean winds Archived 2007-09-22 at the Wayback Machine "Sirocco" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sirocco

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sirocco claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sirocco before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sirocco ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sirocco

In research: Sirocco appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sirocco in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sirocco is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Climate of Africa, Climate of Europe, Climate of Greece, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sirocco outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sirocco in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sirocco means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sirocco out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sirocco in simple terms?

Sirocco ( sih-RO-koh) or scirocco is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names Sirocco derives from ‏šurūq‎ (Arabic: شروق), verbal noun of ‏šaraqa‎, related to the East, aš-šarq.

Why does Sirocco matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sirocco?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sirocco.