Ferrel, William

[person]

(1817-1891) American schoolteacher and meteorologist. Ferrel is best known for his contributions to describing and explaining circulation in what is now known as the Ferrel cell, which operates in the latitude bands between 30° and 60°. As a writer for a nautical almanac and scientist at the Coast and Geodetic Survey, Ferrel conducted extensive research on tides. He designed a machine to predict maximum and minimum tide heights and times, which was used by the survey from 1885 through the 1910s.