Why is the single cell model of the general circulation not an accurate description of the actual circulation of the atmosphere??
What will be the ideal response?
ANSWER: The single-cell model is based on the assumption that:
1. Earth’s surface is uniformly covered with water (so that differential heating between land and water does not come into play).
2. The Sun is always directly over the equator (so that the winds will not shift seasonally).
3. Earth does not rotate (so that the only force we need to deal with is the pressure gradient force).
Such a simple cellular circulation as this does not actually exist on Earth. For one thing, Earth rotates, so the Coriolis force would deflect the southward-moving surface air in the Northern Hemisphere to the right, producing easterly surface winds at practically all latitudes north of the equator. We know that this does not happen and that prevailing winds in middle latitudes actually blow from the west. Therefore, observations alone tell us that a closed circulation of air between the equator and the poles is not the proper model for a rotating Earth. But this model does show us how a nonrotating planet would balance an excess of energy at the equator and a deficit at the poles.?
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