Dynamical Models of the Climate

Abstract

In Chapter 2 we described models of the climate in which heat and moisture moved from one place to another diffusively. In the real climate system, these transports are dynamically controlled and are much more interesting. As in the simple diffusive climate models, more energy arrives from the sun in the tropics than is lost to space as infrared radiation, whereas in high latitudes, more energy is lost to space than is gained from the sun. Thus, it is necessary that the tropics export energy to higher latitudes. How energy is transported poleward depends on the latitude. The first step in the process, getting the energy from the tropics to the subtropics, is accomplished by an overturning circulation in the latitude-height plane called the Hadley circulation.