geo Flashcards
What are Convection Cells?
Convection cells are areas within a fluid where warm material is rising in the center and cold material is sinking.
How do convection cells work?
Eventually the air cools down enough to sink back towards the Earth’s surface.
This creates an area of high pressure where the air is pushing down on the surface of the planet.
The sinking cool air moves the air below to the side where it begins to warm up again and rise.
This creates a circular movement of air known as a convection cell.
How many convection cells are around the earth
6 convection cells
where are the convection cells
3 in the southern hemisphere and 3 in the northern hemisphere
Convection cell names
Hadley, Ferrel, Polar
Where is the Hadley Cell
0-30 degrees South and North
Where is the Ferrel Cell
30 – 60 degrees South and North
Where is the Polar Cell
60 – 90 degrees South and North
What happens in the Hadley Cell
In the Hadley cell, air rises up into the atmosphere at or near the equator, flows toward the poles above the surface of the Earth, returns to the Earth’s surface in the subtropics, and flows back towards the equator.
What happens in the Ferrel Cell
In the Ferrel cell, air flows poleward and eastward near the surface and equatorward and westward at higher altitudes
What happens in the Polar Cell
Air rises, diverges, and travels toward the poles.
What is Air Pressure
the weight of the air above us pushing down.
When warm air rises, the pressure “_____”.
falls
When cooler air sinks, the pressure “_____”.
rises
What is weather
Weather is the current state of the atmosphere.
It is constantly changing and is different all over the world.
