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Weather and Climate

Pressure belts and planetary surface winds

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 3 Section B

Overview

Global pressure belts from the equator to the pole, pressure gradient and coriolis effect.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Name the global pressure belts from the equator to the pole.

Key term

Define a pressure gradient.

Key term

In which direction does air move between pressure belts at the surface?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Name the global pressure belts from the equator to the pole.

    Model answer

    The belts run from the equatorial low to the subtropical high at about 30°. The sub-polar low at about 60° and the polar high complete the sequence.

  2. 2

    Define a pressure gradient.

    Model answer

    A pressure gradient is the change in atmospheric pressure over distance. A steep gradient produces strong winds and a gentle gradient light winds.

  3. 3

    In which direction does air move between pressure belts at the surface?

    Model answer

    Air moves from high pressure to low pressure at the surface. The movement is then deflected by the Coriolis effect.

  4. 4

    What is the Coriolis effect?

    Model answer

    The Coriolis effect is the apparent deflection of moving air caused by the Earth's rotation. Deflection is to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern.

  5. 5

    Where is the Coriolis effect strongest and where is it absent?

    Model answer

    The Coriolis effect is strongest at the poles. The effect is zero at the equator, which is why tropical cyclones cannot form there.

  6. 6

    Name and describe the trade winds.

    Model answer

    The trade winds blow from the subtropical highs towards the equatorial low. The flow arrives from the north-east in the northern hemisphere and the south-east in the southern.

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