Sea breeze circulation is driven by which air movement?

• A. Warm air rising over land
• B. Cool, dense air moving inland from the water
• C. Moist air descending over sea
• D. High altitude jet stream

Answer: (B)

Sea breeze circulation is driven by the cooler, dense air moving from the sea toward the land at the surface to replace the air that’s rising over the land. During the day, the land heats up faster than the sea, causing air over the land to rise and create a relative low near the surface. The cooler air coming in from the sea then moves inland to fill the gap, producing the characteristic onshore (sea-to-land) flow. The rising warm air over land is a consequence of the heating, not the surface-driven motion that brings in the cooler air. Moist air descending over the sea and the high-altitude jet stream aren’t part of this near-surface sea-breeze mechanism.