A classroom/laboratory activity to learn about radiation, heat transport, convection, and energy/mass conservation by interpreting and mapping the Hadley Circulation.
Students will analyze and map real data through the NASA MERRA reanalysis model to understand the actual impact of the Hadley Cell on the Earth’s climate system (e.g., geographical distribution of deserts, global precipitation patterns, trade winds). Students will visualize 30-year-average data on winds and their vertical velocity to understand the Hadley circulation and its influence of regional climates.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
How does the Hadley cell transport heat in the atmosphere?
What might be the potential impacts of Hadley Cell expansion on the Earth’s climate, global precipitation patterns, and the geographical distribution of deserts?
About the Tool
Tool Name
Hadley Circulation using NASA Merra Reanalysis Model
Discipline
Physics, Earth Sciences
Topic(s) in Discipline
Convection; Energy and Mass Conservation; Thermally Direct Cell; Heat Transport, Hadley Circulation
Climate Topic
Climate and the Atmosphere
Type of Tool
Laboratory Activity
Grade Level
High School; Undergraduate
Location
Global
Language
English
Translation
Developed by
Stephen Po-Chedley and Chris Terai, Atmospheric Sciences (2012) for the UW in the High School Climate Science Course
Hosted at
College of the Environment, University of Washington
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
