Mark Hoover, CDC/NIOSH. Mark D. Hoover is a senior research scientist in the Division of Respiratory Disease Studies at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in Morgantown, West Virginia.
This attracts the air from the valley, creating a breeze that blows from the valley floor up towards the top of the mountain. Often birds known as raptors, such as eagles, hawks, condors and vultures, float on these breezes to preserve their energy. This wind pattern is known as a valley breeze.
The result is that a higher pressure is maintained. With a high pressure above the water and a lower pressure above the land, conditions are perfect for a small breeze to develop. Wind blows from the sea towards the land along the pressure gradient in an attempt to equalize pressure. This is known as a sea breeze. In the night, land cools down much quicker than does the waters of the ocean. As the land becomes cooler, so does the air above it. This results in air becoming more dense, forming a high pressure, causing winds to blow outward towards the sea. This is known as a land breeze.