Low-pressure area Low-pressure area A low-pressure area, low, depression or cyclone is a region on the topographic map where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence that occur in the upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as cyclogenesis. Within the field of meteorology, atmospheric divergence aloft occurs in two areas. The first area is on the east side of upper troughs, which form half of a Rossby wave within the Westerlies (a trough with large wavelength that extends through the troposphere). A second
Atmospheric pressure Siberian High often attains a "sea-level pressure" above , with record highs close to . The lowest measurable "sea-level pressure" is found at the centers of tropical cyclones and tornadoes, with a record low of (see Atmospheric pressure records). "Surface pressure" is the atmospheric pressure at a location on Earth's surface (terrain and oceans). It is directly proportional to the mass of air over that location. For numerical reasons, atmospheric models such as general circulation models (GCMs) usually predict the nondimensional "logarithm of surface pressure". The average value of surface pressure on Earth is 985hPa. This is in contrast to