N & S POLE

[Mike1956]

Just been looking at a globe indicating global circulation of air. Interested to learn why N pole has a SEMI PERMANENT HIGH but S pole has PERMANENT HIGH?

Thanks

Mike

[skipmac]

My guess. The Southern Ocean is completely open all the way around Antarctica so you pretty much have permanent winds circling the gloge, uninterrupted. This I guess would permanently enclose the high around the South Pole.

The North Pole and the Arctic Ocean are very restricted with nearby landmasses that create completely different weather patterns that can be very dynamic and impact the high around the pole.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by skipmac

My guess. The Southern Ocean is completely open all the way around Antarctica so you pretty much have permanent winds circling the gloge, uninterrupted. This I guess would permanently enclose the high around the South Pole.

The North Pole and the Arctic Ocean are very restricted with nearby landmasses that create completely different weather patterns that can be very dynamic and impact the high around the pole.

That sounds about right to me.

[jackdale]

The Arctic is an ocean surrounded by continents, the Antarctic is a continent surrounded by oceans.

Proximity to water has a big influence on climate / weather. Water moderates temperatures. That partially explains why the Arctic is warmer than the Antarctic. Polar high pressure systems are cold.

See also

https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/...essure_system/