atmosphere.

We then consider wind and pressure pattern at sequentially smaller spatial and
temporal scale. this chapter concludes with a discussion of air-sea interaction.
Single-Cell Model
Scientists have sought to describe general circulation patterns for centuries. As early as 1735 a
British physicion George Hadley (1685-1768), proposed a simple circulation pattern called the singlecell model to describe the generation movement of the atmosphere. One of his primary goals was to
explain why sailors so often found winds Haw east to west in the lower latitudes. (Winds blowing
east-to-west or west-to-east are referred to as zonal winds: those moving north-to-south or southto-north are called meridional ). Hadley's idealized scheme, shown in Figure assumed a planet
covered by a single ocean and warned by a fixed Sun that remained overhead at the equator Hadley
suggested that the strong heating at the equator caused a circulation pattem in which air expanded
vertically into the upper atmosphere, diverged toward both poles sank back to the surface, and
returned to the equator. Hadley did not think winds would simply move north and south, however.
He believed instead that the rotation of Earth would deflect air to the right in the Nothern
hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, leading to the east-west surface winds
shown in the figure.
Hadley's main contributions were to show that differences in heating give rise to persistent
large-scale motions (called thermally direct circulations) and that zonal wind can result from
deflection of meridional winds. His idea of a single huge cell in each hemisphere was so helpful,
however.
A somewhat more elaborate model does a better though still simplified-job of describing the
general circulation. This three-cell model (figure 2) was proposed by U.S meteorologist William
Ferrel .
( FIGURE 8-2 The single-cell (a) and three-cell (b) models of almospheric pressure and wind. In the
single-cell model. air expands upward, diverges toward the poles, descends, and flows back toward
the equator near the surface. In the three.cell model, thermally driven Hadley circulation is confined
only to the Iower latitudes. Two other cells (more theoretical than mall exist in each hemisphere, the
Ferrel and polar cells.)
The Three-Cell Model
The three-cell model divides the circulation of each hemisphere into three distinct cells: the heatdriven Hardley cell that circulates air between the tropics and subtropics a Ferrel cell in the middle
latitudes, and a polar cell. each cell consists of one belt of rising air with low surface air pressure, a
zone of sinking air with surface high pressure, a surface winds zone with air flowing generally from
the high-pressure belt to the low-pressure belt, and an air flow in the upper atmosphere from the
belt of rising air to the belt of sinking air: though more realistic than the single cell.

part one

model, the three-cell model is so general that only fragments of it actually appear in thereal world.
Nonetheless, the names for many of its wind and pressure belts have become well established in our
modern terminology, and it is important that we understand where these hypothesized belts are
located.
THE HADLEY CELL
Along the equator, strong solar heating causes air to expand upward and diverge toward the poles.
This creates a zone of low pressure at the equator called the equatorial low, or the Intertropical
Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The upward motions that dominate the region favor the formation of
heavy rain showers, particullarly in the afternoon. Heavy precipitation associated with the ITCZ is
observable on weather maps and satellite images (Figure 8-3). Notice in the figure that the
equatorial low exists not as a band of uniform cloud cover, but rather as a zone containing many
clusters of convectional storms. The ITCZ is the rainiest latitude lone in the entire world, with many
locations accumulating more than 200 days of rain each year. Imagine how listless you might feel in
such an environment, with hot humid afternoons giving way to heavy rain showers all year long. It is
for this season that the ITCZ is sometimes called the doldrums.
Within the Hadley cell, air in the upper troposphere moves poleward to the subtropics, to
about 20 to 30 latitude. As it travels, it acquires increasing west to east motion, primarily because
of the conservation of angular momentum (see box 3.1, physical Principles: Problems with the
Single-Cell model). This westerly composent is so strong that the air circles Earth a couple of times
before reaching its ultimate,destination in the subtropics. In other words, the upper-level air follows
a great spiraling path out of the tropics, with zonal motion much stronger than the meridional
component. Among other things, this explains why material ejected by tropical volcanic eruptions
spreads quickly over a wide range of longiudes.
upon teaching about 20 to 30 latitude, air in theo Hadley cell sinksu toward the surface to
form the subtropical high, large bands of high surface pressure because descending air warms
adiabatically, cloud formation is greatly suppressed and desert conditions are common in the
subtropics. The subtropical highs generally have weak pressure gradient and light winds. Such
conditions exert minimal impact of long distance travel today. But in preindustrial days when going
vessels depended on the wind, its prolonged () could be catastrophic. ships crossing the atlantic ()
europe to the new world risked getting stranded in mid-ocean while crossing the subtropics. Often
among () were cattle and horses to be brought to the new world, and legend has it that the crews of
stalled () threw their horses overboard. the jettisoned () lent its name to what we colloquially call the
() latitudes.
In the Northern hemisphere, as the pressure gradient () directs surface air from the
subtropical () to the ITCZ, the weak coriolis force deflects the () to the right to form the Northeast
trade () simply the northeast trades). in the southern hemisphere, the noethward-moving air from
the subtropical high is deflected to the left to create the southeast () winds. Notice that the trade
winds are fairly shallow. () spared through the troposhere, the easterly ().

During the summer of 1999, vast portions of the eastern United States and canada experienced
several weeks of searing heat, with temperatures persistently well above 38 C (100 'F.). These high
temperatures, combined with minimal rainfall, exacerbated a water shortage that had begun during
the dry summer of 1998 (Figure 8-1). By mid-1999, much of the region, especially in the mid-atlantic
states, was in the midst of its worst drought in decades. River flows and reservoir levels were
critically low, forcing several eastern governors to declare drought emergencies outlawing such
nonessential water use as a watering lawns and washing cars.
Agricultural losses were estimated to be $800 million. The heat an _drought se different and
washing cars. prics. These low prices kept farmers such as Dale Benson of Delaware prob-verely
reduced crop harvests for many farmers. Others endured a different lin; his produce at local
auctions. d reduced from sell-Jen,: unusually cony ripening of produce that caused an early glut an r
The drought also brought about some unexpected animal behavior. Black bears, for example,
wandered into suburban areas outside major eastern cities in search of food. One bear was spotted
a mere 15 km (10 mi) from downtown Baltimore, and another broke into a family's kitchen near
Stillwater, New Jersey. Events such as these typically result from pressure patterns that, once
established, persist for unusually long periods of time. Relief comes only when the pressure pattern
evolves to permit wetter conditions. In Chapter 4 we saw that atmospher-ic pressure varies from
one place to another, but its distribution is not haphazard. Instead, well-defined patterns dominate
the distribution of pressure and winds across the global surface. The largest-scale patterns, called
the general circulation, can be considered the background against which unusual events occur, such
as the drought described above. Likewise, even mundane daily wind and pressure variations can be
thought of as departures from the general circulation. Our first goal in this chapter is to describe
dominant planetary wind motions and look at the processes that generate them. In particular, we
examine the interrela-tionships between the winds of the upper and lower atmosphere and the
connec-Lions that occur at the boundary between the surface of the oceans and the lower
4 A blizzard complicates life on Wall Street, New York City.