Atmospheric circulation

• Why is the equator hotter than the poles?

  the earth is flat -> sun rays hit poles at shallower angle -> heat is spread over a larger surface area. At equator the sun rays hit the earth at vertically so the same amount of light is directed at a smaller area.
• What are the three atmospheric circulation cells?

  • polar
  • ferrel
  • hadley
• What happens at the polar cell?

  • dense air falls in polar regions
  • high pressure pushes the air to warmer latitudes
  • as the air warms it rises and cools condensing making rainy areas.
• What happens in hadley cell?

  • hot air at the equator rises
  • air then cools and moisture condenses creating big storm clouds
  • cool air is dense therefore sinks down creating an area of high pressure
• what happens at a ferrel cell?

  in response to the other two cells this cell feeds warm air to high latitudes and transfers cold air back to the subtropics for warming.
• What is the Coriolis effect?

  when global winds blow from high to low pressure, the earth is constantly rotating and deflects winds to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left of the southern hemisphere
• What are ocean currents?

  movements of surface water caused by wind blowing over the surface of the sea