Trade winds and their explanation
Vientos alisios y su explicación
- Date
- 1686 · confidence high
- Place
- London, United Kingdom (Royal Society)
- Credited to
- Edmond Halley (1686), George Hadley (1735); practical use by Portuguese navigators and Columbus
- People
- 👤 Edmond Halley1656–1742👤 George Hadley1685–1768
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Iberian navigators learned to use the trade winds and the westerlies (volta do mar); Halley published the first wind map and Hadley explained the trade winds by equatorial heating and Earth's rotation, founding dynamic meteorology.
Coordinates of London, where Halley presented his map to the Royal Society. The practical knowledge dates from the 15th century; the scientific explanation from 1686-1735.
What it led to
- Optimised ocean navigation routes
- The Hadley cell and general atmospheric circulation
- Meteorology as a physical science
Built on
- Portuguese volta do mar
- Columbus's voyage
Made possible
- Humboldt Current and coastal upwelling1802
- Coriolis effect1835
- El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)1892 / 1924 / 1969
- Wind and current charts (Maury, 1847)
- Atmospheric circulation models