In the southern hemisphere, air that begins flowing from a high-pressure region toward a low-pressure region is deflected by the Coriolis effect in which direction?
The Coriolis Force (CF) results from Earth's rotation and depends on both latitude and wind speed. It increases as you move away from the equator, being zero at the equator (since sin 0° = 0) and reaching its maximum at the poles. The Coriolis Force grows stronger with higher wind speeds.
CF = 2 Ω ρ V sin θ, where:
| Ω ρ V θ | = angular rotation of the earth = density = wind speed = latitude |
The Coriolis force deflects moving air to the LEFT in the southern hemisphere and to the RIGHT in the northern hemisphere.
Air initially moves from high toward low driven by the pressure gradient force. The Coriolis force deflects it to the left until it flows parallel to the isobars (geostrophic wind). This leftward deflection produces ANTI-CLOCKWISE circulation around lows and CLOCKWISE circulation around highs in the southern hemisphere.
KEY RULE: SH = Coriolis deflects LEFT. NH = Coriolis deflects RIGHT.
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