  We present a theoretical model of the near-surface shear layer (NSSL) of the
Sun. Convection cells deeper down are affected by the Sun's rotation, but this
is not the case in a layer just below the solar surface due to the smallness of
the convection cells there. Based on this idea, we show that the thermal wind
balance equation (the basic equation in the theory of the meridional
circulation which holds inside the convection zone) can be solved to obtain the
structure of the NSSL, matching observational data remarkably well.
