Hadley Cell Expansion
There is some evidence that the expansion of the Hadley cells is related to climate change. The majority of earth's driest and arid regions are located in the areas underneath the descending branches of the Hadley circulation around 30 degrees latitude. Both idealised and more realistic climate model experiments show that the Hadley cell expands with increased global mean temperature (perhaps by 2 degrees latitude over the 21st century ); this can lead to large changes in precipitation in the latitudes at the edge of the cells. Scientists fear that the ongoing presence of global warming might bring drastic changes to the ecosystems in the deep tropics and that the deserts will become drier and expand. As the areas around 30 degrees latitude become drier, those inhabiting in that region will see less rainfall than traditionally expected, which could cause major problems with food supplies and habitability.
Read more about this topic: Hadley Cell
Famous quotes containing the words cell and/or expansion:
“What Mrs. Thatcher did for women was to demonstrate that if a woman had enough desire she could do what she wanted, do anything a man could do.... Mrs. Thatcher did not have one traditional feminine cell in her body.”
—Julie Burchill (b. 1960)
“Every expansion of government in business means that government in order to protect itself from the political consequences of its errors and wrongs is driven irresistibly without peace to greater and greater control of the nation’s press and platform. Free speech does not live many hours after free industry and free commerce die.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)