General Circulation of Atmosphere

A. Schneider, 2006
- Totality of mean large-scale motions of atmosphere
(Schneider, 2006).
- General circulation of the troposphere – primarily
responsible for the maintenance and variability of the
surface climate.

B. Alison Nugent and David DeCou

- Average global winds are called the general circulation
of the atmosphere.

C. Trenberth and Stepaniak

- The atmospheric general circulation forms as a
response to differential solar heating and oceanic heat
transport, acting to redistribute energy from warm
regions to cold regions, mainly through the exchange of
dry static energy (DSE) and latent heat (LH).

D. Alexandrea Dillon, Elizabeth Friedl (Study.com, 2022)

- The atmosphere is not static. This movement is known
as atmospheric circulation or the flow of atmospheric
molecules around a heavenly body. It swirls, blows, and
moves along Earth's surface, which has several
significant impacts. First, it dramatically impacts
precipitation patterns and other types of weather
formation.

References
Schneider, T. (2006). The General Circulation of the Atmosphere.
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 34(1), 655–
688. doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.34.031405.12514410.1146/annure
v.earth.34.031405.125144
Trenberth, K. E., and D. P. Stepaniak, 2003a: Covariability of
components of poleward atmospheric energy transports on
seasonal and interannual timescales. J. Climate, 16, 3691–3705.
https://study.com/learn/lesson/global-circulation-atmosphere.html
http://pressbooks-dev.oer.hawaii.edu/atmo/chapter/chapter-11-
general-circulation/