The UPSC mains GS-1 paper has half of the syllabus as geography. Geography is also a verimportant part of UPSC prelims syllabus. So is is important to understand the concepts of Geography in a detailed manner so than the IAS aspirant can answer the questions of UPSC Mains and UPSC prelims with ease. The candidate should make topic wise notes with clear factual and conceptual details.

TOPICS

  • Hadley cell
  • Ferrel Cell
  • Polar Cell
  • Walker Cell

HADLEY CELL

  • The circulation cell closest to the equator is called the Hadley cell.  Winds are light at the equator because of the weak horizontal pressure gradients located there.   The warm surface conditions result in locally low pressure.  The warm air rises at the equator producing clouds and causing instability in the atmosphere.  This instability causes thunderstorms to develop and release large amounts of latent heat.

  • The Hadley Cell encompasses latitudes from the equator to about 30°.  At this latitude surface high pressure causes the air near the ground to diverge.  This forces air to come down from aloft to "fill in" for the air that is diverging away from the surface high pressure.

  • The air flowing northward from the equator high up in the atmosphere is warm and moist compared to the air nearer the poles. This causes a strong temperature gradient between the two different air masses and a jet stream results.

  • At the 30° latitudes, this jet is known as the subtropical jet stream which flows from west to east in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Clear skies generally prevail throughout the surface high pressure, which is where many of the deserts are located in the world.

  • The air at the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) rises because of the convection currents caused by low pressure. Low pressure in turn occurs due to high insolation. The winds from the tropics converge at this low pressure zone.

  • The converged air rises along with the convective cell. It reaches the top of the troposphere up to an altitude of 14 km, and moves towards the poles. This causes accumulation of air at about 30° N and S. Part of the accumulated air sinks to the ground and forms a subtropical high. Another reason for sinking is the cooling of air when it reaches 30° N and S latitudes.

  • Down below near the land surface the air flows towards the equator as the easterlies. The easterlies from either side of the equator converge in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Such circulations from the surface upwards and vice-versa are called cells. Such a cell in the tropics is called Hadley Cell.

  • From 30° latitude, some of the air that sinks to the surface returns to the equator to complete the Hadley Cell. This produces the northeast trade winds in the Northern Hemisphere and the southeast trades in the Southern Hemisphere.

  • The Coriolis force impacts the direction of the wind flow. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis force turns the winds to the right. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Coriolis force turns the winds to the left.

 

FERREL CELL

  • From 30° latitude to 60° latitude, a new cell takes over known as the Ferrel Cell. This cell produces prevailing westerly winds at the surface within these latitudes. This is because some of the air sinking at 30° latitude continues traveling northward toward the poles and the Coriolis force bends it to the right (in the Northern Hemisphere).

  • This air is still warm and at roughly 60° latitude approaches cold air moving down from the poles. With the converging air masses at the surface, the low surface pressure at 60° latitude causes air to rise and form clouds. Some of the rising warm air returns to 30° latitude to complete the Ferrel Cell.

  • The two air masses at 60° latitude do not mix well and form the polar front which separates the warm air from the cold air. Thus the polar front is the boundary between warm tropical air masses and the colder polar air moving from the north.  (The use of the word "front" is from military terminology; it is where opposing armies clash in battle.)

  • The polar jet stream aloft is located above the polar front and flows generally from west to east. The polar jet is strongest in the winter because of the greater temperature contrasts than during the summer.

  • Waves along this front can pull the boundary north or south, resulting in local warm and cold fronts which affect the weather at particular locations.

POLAR CELL

  • Above 60° latitude, the polar cell circulates cold, polar air equatorward. The air from the poles rises at 60° latitude where the polar cell and Ferrel cell meet, and some of this air returns to the poles completing the polar cell.

  • Because the wind flows from high to low pressure and taking into account the effects of the Coriolis force, the winds above 60° latitude are prevailing easterlies.

WALKER CIRCULATION

  • In contrast to the Hadley, Ferrel and polar circulations that run along north-south lines, the Walker circulation is an east-west circulation.  Over the eastern Pacific Ocean, surface high pressure off the west coast of South America enhances the strength of the easterly trade winds found near the equator.

  • The winds blow away from the high pressure toward lower pressure near Indonesia. Upwelling, the rising of colder water from the deep ocean to the surface, occurs in the eastern Pacific along South America near Ecuador and Peru.

  • This cold water is especially nutrient-rich and is stocked with an abundance of large fish populations. By contrast the water in the western Pacific, near Indonesia, is relatively warm.

  • The air over Indonesia rises because of the surface low pressure located there and forms clouds. This causes heavy precipitation to fall over the western tropical Pacific throughout the year.

  • The air then circulates back aloft towards the region above the surface high pressure near Ecuador and this becomes the Walker circulation. The air sinks at this surface high pressure and is picked up by the strong trade winds to continue the cycle.

  • On some occasions, the Walker circulation and the trade winds weaken, allowing warmer water to "slosh back" towards the eastern tropical Pacific near South America.  You can think of this as blowing a fan over a bathtub full of water.

  • If the fan blows steadily, the water at the side farthest from the fan will tend to pile up downwind.  If you suddenly slow the fan down, some of the water that was built up will surge back towards the fan.

  • The warmer water will cover the areas of upwelling, cutting off the flow of nutrients to the fish and animals that live in the eastern Pacific Ocean.  This warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean is known as El Niño.

  • The warmer water will also serve as a source for warm, moist air which can aid in the development of heavy thunderstorms over the mass of warm water.

 

Atmospheric circulation is one of the difficult subjects in UPSC geography. The IAS aspirants needs to make sure that they understand the topic and are able to relate it to the local climatic issues. to read more articles on Climatology Click here