Earth's general circulation emerges from just two ingredients: differential solar heating (equator hot, poles cold) and planetary rotation (Coriolis force). The simulation shows Hadley, Ferrel, and Polar cells forming, jet streams accelerating at cell boundaries, and trade winds deflecting westward in the tropics.
Adjust the rotation rate slider — at zero rotation you get a single giant Hadley cell covering each hemisphere; at Earth's real rate (~7.3 × 10⁻⁵ rad/s) three distinct cells emerge. The temperature contrast slider controls how vigorously cells circulate. Hover over any region to read wind speed and direction.
The Coriolis parameter f = 2Ω sin(φ) is zero at the equator and maximum at the poles. This is why tropical weather systems lack strong rotation — hurricanes cannot form within ~5° of the equator. Jupiter's visible bands are the atmospheric cells of a rapidly rotating planet (Ω ≈ 2.5× Earth's) made visible by cloud chemistry.