General Circulation

Thermal Circulation and Earth’s Rotation

Global Circulation is caused
by different parts of the
world heating up differently.
Two Driving
Forces that results Atmospheric
Circulation

Transfer of Heat Energy between Earth’s Rotation

Equator and Poles
 This heat is absorbed by clouds,
atmospheric gases and Earth’s
surface

Earth constantly receives heat from the sun through

solar radiation and emits heat through re-radiation or
back radiation into space.
The heating of the earth is uneven; near the equator,
it heats up to 270 watts per sq.m while near the poles,
it strikes up to 90 watts per sq.m
The earth’s emitted radiation is more than the incoming
radiation from the sun thus, energy from the equator is
transferred to the poles at the rate of 4 x109 MW.
 Albedo
The reflectivity of the underlying surface

Snow, ice and thick clouds of Polar regions

reflect lot of the sun’s radiation back into
space
40⁰ N

40⁰ S
 Global Circulation acts as a clever air conditioning system,
redistributing the heat. Results to stopping the equator from
getting hotter and hotter and the poles becoming colder and
colder.
 When the earth is not
rotating,
and was a simple mass,
with no oceans, we would
have a single circulatory
cell in each hemisphere
where hotter air would rise
Atmospheric Circulation at the equator and flow
pattern for non-rotating towards the poles.
planet.
 But with the unequal of
distribution of land and
ocean and the speed of the
Earth’s rotation make this
circulation system more
complicated, giving us a
three-cell-pattern which
Atmospheric Circulation exist in north and south
pattern for non-rotating hemispheres.
planet.
 3 Major Atmospheric Cells

1 2 3
Hadley Cells Ferrel Cells Polar Cells
 Hadley Cells/Circulation

Heated air ascends at the

1 equator, proceeds toward the
poles at upper levels, loses
heat and descends toward the
Air rises about 18 equator and other toward the
km. spreads out ground at 30⁰. The largest cell.
underneath the
tropopause.
 Hadley Cells/Circulation
The Hadley cell, named after
George Hadley. An English
1
lawyer and amateur
meteorologist in the 18th
Century
 Ferrel Cells/Middle Cells
Driven frictionally by the other
2 two cells; its surface air flows
toward the pole, producing
prevailing westerly air flow in
the mid-latitudes.
Resulting in semi-
perimeter areas
of high and low
pressure
 Ferrel Cells/Middle Cells
Ferrel Cells, named after
2 William Ferrel. An American
Meteorologist of 19th Century.
 Polar Cells

Air rises at 60⁰ and flows

3
toward the poles at upper
levels, then cools back to 60⁰
near the earth’s surface.
Resulting in semi-
perimeter areas
of high and low
pressure
Where air is rising, an area of low pressure is created.
These areas see much more rainfall, which leads to
large area of rainforests near the equator
 LOW PRESSURE LOW PRESSURE

LOW PRESSURE LOW PRESSURE LOW PRESSURE

LOW PRESSURE LOW PRESSURE

 Where air is descending, an area of high pressure is
created, giving largely clear skies and little rainfall. This
leads to the desert regions
 HIGH PRESSURE HIGH PRESSURE

HIGH PRESSURE HIGH PRESSURE HIGH PRESSURE

HIGH PRESSURE HIGH PRESSURE HIGH PRESSURE

HIGH PRESSURE HIGH PRESSURE

Not all deserts are
hot
Antartica sits under the descending branch
of the Polar Cell and is also considered a
desert.
The largest and driest desert overall.
 The Coriolis Effect

The rotation of the earth

from west to east
changes the circulation
pattern.

Lies in the fact that the Earth’s Surface rotates faster

at the equator than at the Poles. To maintain angular
momentum, the magnitude of the Coriolis force
increases towards the pole.
 The spin of the earth induces an
apparent motion to the right in the
Northern Hemisphere and vice
versa to the Southern Hemisphere
 The deflection is a major factor
explaining why winds blow
anticlockwise around low pressure
and clockwise around high pressure
in the northern hemisphere. Vice
versa in the southern hemisphere.
Subtropical Jet streams
occurs high in the
atmosphere between
12 to 15 km associated
with the strong winds of
earth reaching over
280 miles per hour at
times.
Polar Jet streams sits
between rising
branches of the Polar
and Ferrel cells. It
marks the boundaries
between cold Polar air
and warm Tropical air
called Polar front.
Occurs at a height
between 11-13 km
 The uneven distribution of ocean and land on the
earth’s surface, coupled with their different thermal
properties, creates additional spatial variation in
atmospheric circulation
 The annual shifting of the thermal equator due to
earth’s revolution around the sun causes a
corresponding oscillation of the three-cell-circulation.
 Atmosphere is divided vertically
into various zones. Atmospheric
circulation described above
occurs in troposphere about 8km
at the poles to 16km at the equator
 Temperature in the troposphere
decreases with respect to altitude.
Dry adiabatic lapse rate is air rate
of decrease approximately
9.8ºC/km.
 Saturated adiabatic lapse rate is
air rate of decrease approximately
6.5ºC/km.
Sharp changes in temperature and
pressure produce strong narrow air
currents known as jet streams
speeds ranging from 15 to 50 m/s.
 They have flow for thousands of
kilometer and have important
influence on air mass movement.
 Air Mass
Where warm air meets
cold air mass, instead of
mixing, a definite surface
of discontinuity appears
between them, called
front.

It is a large body of air that is fairly uniform

horizontally in properties such as temperature and
moisture content.
 Cyclones
It is a region of low pressure around
which air flows in a counterclockwise
direction in the northern hemisphere.

Tropical cyclones
form at low latitudes
and may develop into
hurricanes or
typhoons
 Extratropical Cyclones
Formed when warm and cold air masses,
initially flowing in opposite directions
adjacent to one another, begin to interact
and whirl together in a circular motion.

An anticyclone is a
region of high
pressure around
which air flows
clockwise in the
northern hemisphere.
Life Cycle of a Northern Hemisphere
Frontal Cycle
 Thank you
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