Changes in Earth's rotation rate caused by zonal tide and their manifestations in atmospheric pressure field

Atmospheric pressure changes associated with tidal changes in the Earth's rotation rate are examined in the example of the semiannual solar tide. The observed semiannual changes in atmospheric pressure at the Earth's surface both qualitatively and quantitatively are attributable to real changes in the Earth's rotation rate caused in turn by the semiannual solar tide. The semiannual atmospheric pressure changes are not tidal because they are not caused directly by the tide-generating force. The direct cause of the semiannual changes in atmospheric pressure is changes in the Earth's rate of rotation and therefore such atmospheric pressure changes are most correctly called rotational. This mechanism of semiannual changes in atmospheric pressure is applied to the entire spectrum of zonal long-period tides. Atmospheric pressure changes in the rhythms of long-period tides are a reflection of real tides in the Earth's hydrosphere and lithosphere.