Circulation (meteorology)

A circulation or a circulation system is a more or less closed, circular air flow in meteorology .

At first it does not matter whether it is a horizontal , a vertical or an inclined circulation in space . There are also circulations of various sizes. Land-sea wind circulation , mountain and valley wind circulation and cyclones are examples of usually micro- to mesoscale circulations.

On the synoptic scale, high and low pressure areas are well-known examples of circulation systems and on the planetary scale the planetary circulation stands for a collection of large-scale vertical circulation wheels ( Hadley cell , Ferrel cell , polar cell ) or horizontal circulations ( Walker circulation , El Niño) , Monsoon circulation ).