earth science

South Atlantic High

South Atlantic High is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand South Atlantic High rather than just read about it. In short: South Atlantic High is a semipermanent pressure high centered at about 25°S, 15°W, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is also called the St.

Key takeaways

South Atlantic High belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect South Atlantic High to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of South Atlantic High from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

South Atlantic High is a semipermanent pressure high centered at about 25°S, 15°W, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is also called the St. Helena High, Saint Helena island being the only land in the area. It can stretch thousands of miles across the South Atlantic. This does not mean that the position and the intensity of this anticyclone are permanent, but just that there is an anticyclone on the maps describing the average monthly pressure. This area of high pressure is part of the great subtropical belt of anticyclones called the subtropical ridge.

Formation

In the Horse latitudes, generally in the region between 30 and 35 degrees of north and south latitude, there are more or less permanent highs. This is the subsiding part of Hadley cells. Indeed, near the equator, where the Coriolis force is quite weak, a direct circulation of air is established. In the lower levels of the atmosphere, the difference in temperature between the equator and the northerly warmer regions gives rise to the Intertropical Convergence Zone where the warmer air rises because of convergence and relatively lower density. Subsequently, this air spreads north and south and cools at higher altitude and descends further north and south.

Associated weather This system greatly affects sailing because the associated winds are generally not strong and sailing vessels have to go far north or south of the centre of the high pressure region depending on the direction of travel to find winds that are favourable in strength and direction.

Climatic influence on economy The anticyclonic circulation produces a dry climate, contributing to the aridity of the Namib and Kalahari deserts, but its influence does not stop there: the South Atlantic High brings warm weather from the east coast of South America to Africa in summer as it carries tropical air to its southern flank. On its northern flank, where the winds are easterly trade winds, there is the intertropical convergence zone that controls the African monsoon and the rainy season in the Guianas.

References

External links

Illustrations

South Atlantic High: Hadley cell transporting heat and humidity from the Tropics toward the mid-latitudes. — Hadley cell transporting heat and humidity from the Tropics toward the mid-latitudes.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with South Atlantic High

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what South Atlantic High claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to South Atlantic High before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about South Atlantic High ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of South Atlantic High

In research: South Atlantic High appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses South Atlantic High in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: South Atlantic High is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Anticyclones, Atlantic Ocean, Climate of Argentina, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for South Atlantic High outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “South Atlantic High” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study South Atlantic High in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what South Atlantic High means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain South Atlantic High out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is South Atlantic High in simple terms?

South Atlantic High is a semipermanent pressure high centered at about 25°S, 15°W, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is also called the St.

Why does South Atlantic High matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study South Atlantic High?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on South Atlantic High.