Atonv0.4
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Globes shown

Place

Scenario A
Scenario B

Click the globe to move the place of the clicked pane

Sun

Colouring

Energy budget

Atmosphere

Ocean

Ground

Landmarks

The general circulation of the atmosphere

Warm air rises where pressure is low (L); cold air sinks where pressure is high (H). Three cells in each hemisphere carry heat from the equator towards the poles.

Cross-section from the South Pole to the North Pole

On June 21 · ITCZ around 11.0° N

The three cells

Hadley cellread

Between the equator and 30°. Heated by the Sun, warm, moist air rises in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ): low pressure, thunderstorms. High up, it heads towards the poles, cools and sinks around 30°: high pressure, dry air, great deserts. At the surface it flows back to the equator: these are the trade winds, deflected westwards by the Earth's rotation (Coriolis force).

Ferrel cellread

Between 30° and 60°. It is driven by the other two. At the surface, air moves towards the poles and the Coriolis force deflects it eastwards: these are the westerlies, which bring ocean storms to Europe. Around 60° it meets polar air at the polar front (low pressure) and rises.

Polar cellread

Between 60° and the pole. Very cold, dense air sinks over the pole (high pressure), then flows towards 60° at the surface: these are the polar easterlies. Warmed by contact with milder air, it rises at the polar front and returns to the pole high up.

The ITCZ follows the Sun

Average latitude of the ITCZ through the year (schematic)

-30°-15°0°15°30°JanAprJulOct
ITCZSun's declination

See a cross-section

Go inside the atmosphere at three key places to see the air rise, sink and form clouds.

What you see on the globe

  • The trails are air masses pushed by the wind. Their colour shows their temperature: air leaving the tropics is warm (orange), air coming down from the poles is cold (blue). An air mass keeps its temperature for a while as it travels, then takes on that of the region it reaches.
  • The clouds (4K satellite image) drift with the winds: westwards with the trade winds, eastwards at mid-latitudes. They are more common where air rises (ITCZ, polar front) and rare where it sinks (deserts around 30°).
  • At the edge of the globe, coloured dots rise, travel high up and sink again: these are the cells seen side-on. Air cools as it rises and warms as it sinks.
  • The numbered markers open the cross-section of that place.

Why does the air move?

  • Low latitudes receive more energy than they lose: the air warms up, becomes less dense and rises.
  • At the poles, air loses more energy than it receives: it cools, becomes denser and sinks.
  • In between, air flows from high to low pressure. The Earth's rotation deflects these winds: to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • The pressure belts shift with the seasons, about a month behind the Sun: change A's date to see it.