What characterizes cold advection?

Cold advection is characterized by the movement of cold air towards warmer regions. This process occurs when cooler air masses move into areas that are experiencing higher temperatures. As cold air moves into warmer areas, it can replace the existing warmer air, leading to a drop in temperature in those regions. This is often seen in weather patterns, where cold fronts push into areas of warm air, resulting in changes in weather conditions, such as increased cloudiness, precipitation, and shifts in wind patterns.

The movement of cold air can also influence local weather by causing the warm air to rise, which may further lead to convection and possibly storm development. The concept of advection is crucial in meteorology as it helps in understanding temperature variations, weather fronts, and their associated impacts on local climates.

The other options do not accurately define cold advection. Warm air rising into colder air describes a different process related to convection rather than advection, while cold air descending over warm regions does not reflect the movement that defines cold advection. Lastly, warm air moving over cold ocean currents pertains to another phenomenon focused on the interaction between air and water temperatures, not the direct movement of cold air into warm regions.