SSC/RRB/Groups-General Studies: Geography 6 Atmospheric Circulation

Atmospheric Circulation
As the earth rotates, air traveling southward from the North Pole will be deflected to the right. Air traveling
northward from the South Pole will be deflected to the left. In the 1920 a new conceptual model was devised that
had three cells which represent the typical wind flow around the globe.
Polar Cell

Ferrel Cell

Hadley cell
The largest cells extend from the equator to between 30 and 40 degrees north and south, and are named Hadley
cells, after English meteorologist George Hadley.
Within the Hadley cells, the trade winds blow towards the equator, then ascend near the equator as a broken
line of thunderstorms, which forms the Inter-Tropical-Convergence Zone (ITCZ). From the tops of these storms,
the air flows towards higher latitudes, where it sinks to produce high-pressure regions over the subtropical oceans and
the world's hot deserts, such as the Sahara desert in North Africa.
Ferrel cell
In the middle cells, which are known as the Ferrel cells, air converges at low altitudes to ascend along the
boundaries between cool polar air and the warm subtropical air that generally occurs between 60 and 70
degrees north and south. The circulation within the Ferrel cell is complicated by a return flow of air at high altitudes
towards the tropics, where it joins sinking air from the Hadley cell.
The Ferrel cell moves in the opposite direction to the two other cells (Hadley cell and Polar cell) and acts rather like a
gear. In this cell the surface wind would flow from a southerly direction in the northern hemisphere. However, the
spin of the Earth induces an apparent motion to the right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern
hemisphere.
Polar cell
The smallest and weakest cells are the Polar cells, which extend from between 60 and 70 degrees north and south,
to the poles. Air in these cells sinks over the highest latitudes and flows out towards the lower latitudes at the surface.
Horse Latitudes
Around 30N we see a region of subsiding (sinking) air. Sinking air is typically dry and free of substantial
precipitation.
Many of the major desert regions of the northern hemisphere are found near 30 latitude. E.g., Sahara, Middle
East, SW United States.
Doldrums
Located near the equator, the doldrums are where the trade winds meet and where the pressure gradient
decreases creating very little winds. That's why sailors find it difficult to cross the equator and why weather
systems in the one hemisphere rarely cross into the other hemisphere. The doldrums are also called the
intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)

Sri Maheshwari CCE***www.ccevijayawada.com

SSC/RRB/Groups-General Studies: Geography 6 Atmospheric Circulation

Owing to the tilt of the Earth's axis in orbit, the ITCZ will shift north and south. It will shift to the south in January
and north in July.

This shift in the wind directions owing to a northward or southward shift in the ITCZ results in the monsoons.
Monsoons are wind systems that exhibit a pronounced seasonal reversal in direction. The best known monsoon is
found in India and Southeast Asia.
Winter -- Flow is predominantly off the continent keeping the continent dry.
Summer -- Flow is predominantly off the oceans keeping the continent wet.
Monsoons happen not only in Southeast Asia and India, but also in North America. They are responsible for the
increased rainfall in the southwest US during the summer months and the very dry conditions during the
winter months.
Sri Maheshwari CCE***www.ccevijayawada.com