Influence of Baroclinic Eddies on the Hadley Cell Edge

Abstract The Hadley cell (HC), a thermally direct circulation in the tropics, is known as the primary cause of tropical rainforest and subtropical desert formation. While its formation and maintenance have been extensively examined, the theoretical understanding of the dynamics governing its extent remains incomplete. The most fundamental theory on the HC considered the conservation of angular momentum and the energy constraint while neglecting the influence of baroclinic eddies. Held later considered the possible impact of baroclinic eddies and suggested that the HC edge is determined by the static stability and tropopause height at midlatitudes. By extending Held and Hou and updating Held, this study incorporates eddy heat fluxes and changes in adiabatic processes induced by eddy momentum fluxes into the energy flux balance in the HC. The updated energy flux balance shifts the latitude…