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Atmospheric circulation
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{{Short description|Process which distributes thermal energy about the Earth's surface}} [[File:Earth Global Circulation - en.svg|thumb|350px|right|Idealised depiction (at [[equinox]]) of large-scale atmospheric circulation on Earth]] [[File:MeanMonthlyP.gif|thumb|350px|Long-term mean [[precipitation]] by month]] '''Atmospheric circulation''' is the large-scale movement of [[Atmosphere of Earth|air]] and together with [[ocean circulation]] is the means by which [[thermal energy]] is redistributed on the surface of the [[Earth]]. The Earth's atmospheric circulation varies from year to year, but the large-scale structure of its circulation remains fairly constant. The smaller-scale weather systems β [[middle latitudes|mid-latitude]] [[low-pressure area|depressions]], or tropical convective cells β occur chaotically, and long-range weather predictions of those cannot be made beyond ten days in practice, or a month in theory (see [[chaos theory]] and the [[butterfly effect]]). The Earth's [[weather]] is a consequence of its illumination by the [[Sun]] and the laws of [[thermodynamics]]. The atmospheric circulation can be viewed as a heat engine driven by the Sun's energy and whose [[heat sink|energy sink]], ultimately, is the blackness of space. The work produced by that engine causes the motion of the masses of air, and in that process it redistributes the energy absorbed by the Earth's surface near the tropics to the latitudes nearer the poles, and thence to space. The large-scale atmospheric circulation "cells" shift polewards in warmer periods (for example, [[interglacial]]s compared to [[Glacial period|glacials]]), but remain largely constant as they are, fundamentally, a property of the Earth's size, rotation rate, heating and atmospheric depth, all of which change little. Over very long time periods (hundreds of millions of years), a [[tectonic uplift]] can significantly alter their major elements, such as the [[jet stream]], and [[plate tectonics]] may shift [[ocean current]]s. During the extremely hot climates of the [[Mesozoic]], a third [[desert]] belt may have existed at the [[Equator]].
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