ATRN 212
Meteorology (Week 2)
By Jean-Vanessa M. Alonso
Topics to be discussed
Week 2
➔ Cont. Atmospheric Circulation
➔ Three-Cell Circulation Pattern
➔ Coriolis Force
2
Atmospheric Circulation
Caused by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface or Differential Heating.
➔ WHAT CAUSES DIFFERENTIAL HEATING?
◆ Main source of heat is the sun.
● This heat travels through space in the form of radiation.
● Radiation is then absorbed by clouds, atmospheric gases and the Earth’s surface.
◆ Some parts of the Earth receive more radiation than others.
● This due to the curvature of the Earth.
○ At higher latitudes the radiation from the sun is spread over a large area.
○ Some energy is much more concentrated near the equator.
● The way the Earth is tilted.
○ Some polar regions do not see daylight during the winter.
○ In these locations, the Earth continuously sends out heat without any compensating heat from the
sun.
◆ Snow, ice and thick clouds reflects a lot of the sun’s radiation back to space.
The combined effect of all of these processes sets up a thermal gradient between the equator and the poles.
➔ WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION?
◆ To redistribute the heat. - This will stop the equator from getting hotter and the poles colder.
Three-Cell Circulation Pattern
The equator receives more heat from the sun
than the poles. Circulation pattern in a
static environment.
The purpose of Atmospheric Circulation is to
redistribute heat.
If the Earth did not rotate, does not
have any oceans and was a simple
land mass, we will be having a
single circulatory cell in each
hemisphere.
Three-Cell Circulation
Pattern
Because of the unequal distribution of
land and ocean and the speed of the
earth’s rotation makes the circulatory
system more complicated.
This gives us a three cell circulation
pattern which exists in both hemispheres.
Three-Cell Circulation Pattern
- Hadley Cells
➔ The largest cells.
➔ At the equator, the warmer, less
dense air rises.
➔ It rises to about a height of 18
kilometers and spreads out
underneath the tropopause.
➔ The warm air will spread out
towards the poles and gradually
cools and sinks as it moves
before descending back to the
equator.
Three-Cell Circulation Patterns
- Polar Cells
➔ The smallest cells.
➔ Cold, dense air descending in
the polar regions flows at low
levels to about 60° to 70°
North or South.
➔ As the air leaves the polar
regions, it starts to warm and
rise, returning to the poles at
high levels
Three-Cell Circulation
Patterns - Ferrel Cells
➔ In between the Hadley and Polar Cells.
➔ NOT DRIVEN BY TEMPERATURE.
➔ Flows in the opposite direction of the
Hadley and Polar cells, acting like a
gear.
What do these
circulating cells do?
➔ Transport heat from the
equator to the poles.
➔ Creates a semi-permanent
areas of high and low
pressure.
➔ Because of the rising and
descending parts of these
circulation cells, we have
our climatic zones.
What do these
circulating cells do?
➔ Rising air will create
areas of low pressure.
◆ Areas with rising air
will see more rainfall.
◆ Also the reason why
the largest area of
rainforests can be found
near the equator.
➔ Descending air forms
areas of high pressure.
◆ Descending air is
associated with clear
skies and little rainfall.
The Coriolis Force
Apart from being split into three cells, the atmospheric circulation is also at an angle
due to the Earth’s rotation.
The spin of the Earth deflects objects to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and
to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This is known as the Coriolis Effect.
What is the Coriolis Force?
➔ The force created by the rotation of the Earth.
➔ This force is not perceptible to humans as they walk around because humans
move slowly and travel relatively short distances compared to the size and
rotation rate of the Earth.
➔ However, the Coriolis force significantly affects motion over large distances,
such as an air mass or body of water.
➔ The amount of deflection differs depending on the latitude.
➔ It is greatest at the poles and diminishes to zero at the equator.
➔ The magnitude of Coriolis force also differs with the speed of the moving
body—the greater the speed, the greater the deviation.
The Coriolis Force
The key to the Coriolis effect lies in the fact that
the Earth's surface rotates faster at the equator
than at the poles.
This is because the earth is wider at the equator
so has further to travel in one day.
The Coriolis Force
The result of this means that as air moves away
from the equator, it doesn't move in a straight line
relative to the Earth's surface.
Instead it appears to an observer on the ground to
move in a slightly curved direction but there is no
physical force causing this deflection.
As the atmosphere rotates with the earth, it is just
due to the air flowing from a region that is moving
faster to a region that is moving more slowly.
The Coriolis Force
This deflection is a major factor why winds blow counterclockwise around low
pressure and clockwise around high pressure in the Northern Hemisphere and vice
versa in the Southern Hemisphere.
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