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Hadley Cells and the ITCZ |
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| The thermally driven atmospheric circulation systems that exist between the equator and latitude 30° in each hemisphere are known as Hadley cells, named after the English lawyer and climatologist George Hadley, who first defined them. At low levels air tends to drift towards the equator, while at higher levels there is a compensating drift towards the poles to complete the cell. The boundary of these northern and southern air masses is termed the ITCZ (intertropical convergence zone); it is an area of low atmospheric pressure, which, over the ocean, is generally marked by a band of cumulonimbus clouds formed by the rapid upward convection of moist air. | ||||||
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| © Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. | ||||||
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| Appears in these articles | ||||||
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| Hadley Cell; Intertropical Convergence Zone; Meteorology | ||||||
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