Pressure Systems Flashcards
Name the 3 pressure systems cells
Hadley cell
Ferrell cell
Polar cell
Where would you find a depression?
Area of low pressure
What forms a depression?
High level divergence, leads to low level convergence and air ascending, sea level pressure drops
What direction does the wind blow in a depression?
Anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere
What is a secondary depression?
An area of low pressure that forms within the circulation of the primary depression
What is a cold core low?
Where the centre of the system is colder than the surrounding air, causing a downwards bulge at higher level
What is a warm core low?
Where the centre of the system is warmer than the surrounding air, causing a upwards bulge at higher level
Where is a cold core low common?
Polar front depression
Where is a warm core low common?
Tropical depression
What forms an anticyclone?
High level convergence, this leads to low level divergence, air subsides and warms up through adiabatic warming
What direction does the wind blow in an anticyclone?
Clockwise in the northern hemisphere
What is a cold core high?
Cold surface temperatures make the lower troposphere cold and dense. Pressure bulges up at low level and down at higher level
What is a warm core high?
Excess air in the upper troposphere. Pressure levels bulge up at both upper and lower levels
Where would you find a cold core high?
Siberia in winter
Where would you find a warm core high?
The Azores
