Subpolar gyres form at high latitudes (around 60°). Circulation of surface wind and ocean water is cyclonic, counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere, around a low-pressure area, such as the persistent Aleutian Low and the Icelandic Low. The wind stress curl in this region drives the Ekman suction, which creates an upwelling of nutrient-rich water from the lower depths.
Subpolar circulation in the southern hemisphere is dominated by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, due to the lack of large landmasses breaking up the Southern Ocean. There are minor gyres in the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea, the Weddell Gyre and Ross Gyre, which circulate in a clockwise direction.