Subpolar Low-Pressure Belt

subpolar low-pressure belt

[¦səb′pō·lər ¦lō ′presh·ər ‚belt]

(meteorology)

A belt of low pressure located, in the mean, between 50 and 70° latitude; in the Northern Hemisphere, this belt consists of the Aleutian low and the Icelandic low; in the Southern Hemisphere, it is supposed to exist around the periphery of the Antarctic continent.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Subpolar Low-Pressure Belt

 

an area of low atmospheric pressure in the subpolar regions of the northern and southern hemispheres. Subpolar low-pressure belts are mainly encountered above oceans, usually in the regions between 50° and 70° N and S lat. On long-term mean climatic maps, the subpolar low-pressure belts of the northern hemisphere are grouped into two centers of atmospheric activity: the Iceland low and the Aleutian depression (Aleutian low). Such belts in the southern hemisphere surround Antarctica and are not as well differentiated. Subpolar low-pressure belts are characterized by the frequent occurrence of deep cyclones.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.