Skip to main content

The Atmospheric Circulation

  • Reference work entry
Tropical Forestry Handbook

Abstract

Within this chapter the Hadley Circulation, the Monsoon System, Easterly Waves, Tropical Cyclones and the Walker Circulation are discussed. While the Hadley Circulation and the Monsoon System explain different air flow systems in a mainly meridional sense, a secondary system of latitudinal wind flow is governed by the Walker circulation which is decisive for the formation of La Niña and El Niño events. Apart from the long-term seasonal and nonseasonal variations of the tropical atmosphere, the climate of the Tropics is also affected by more frequent tropical weather disturbances. One of them are large-scale planetary waves which produce greater amounts of rainfall in many maritime tropical regions. These disturbance lines sprawl in a meridional direction from east to west and are called easterly waves.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 1,799.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 3,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thorsten Peters .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this entry

Cite this entry

Peters, T., Richter, M. (2016). The Atmospheric Circulation. In: Pancel, L., Köhl, M. (eds) Tropical Forestry Handbook. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54601-3_36

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics