ATOC 184 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Pressure-Gradient Force, Geostrophic Wind, Coriolis Force
11 Apr 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
The development of high-and-low pressure systems at the surface. Force imbalances: of course, just like in life, balance can be very peaceful but also very boring, however, storms, such as extratropical cyclones, develop in regions where geostrophic balance is not completely applicable. For the same pressure gradient, we have regions where the wind is blowing a bit faster or slower: all interesting weather usually results from accelerations that result from imbalances between pgf and coriolis force. Gradient wind balance: one limitation of geostrophic wind is that it only applies to straight flow, as the wind curves around a low or high-pressure system, we have to take into consideration centripetal acceleration. Wind is turning in direction of pressure gradient force therefore, the pgf must be slightly larger than coriolis force: same idea of geostrophic balance with one additional force: That force is a function of rotation of wind.
