SME
Climatology · Problem type
The three circulation cells
Use this for “Which cell holds the trade winds, the westerlies and the ITCZ, and why are the subtropics dry?”
Explore
Each hemisphere has a Hadley cell from 0° to 30°, a Ferrel cell from 30° to 60° and a polar cell from 60° to the pole.
Rising air brings clouds and rain; sinking air brings clear, dry weather.
Assumptions
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An idealized Earth: each hemisphere has three cells meeting near 30° and 60°; real ones shift with the seasons.
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Air rises at the equator and near 60°, and sinks near 30° and over the poles.
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Surface winds turn right of their path in the north and left in the south (the Coriolis effect).
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