ESS11
Prof. Jin-Yi Yu
Coriolis Force
UA
UB
q First, Point A rotates faster than Point B (UA > UB)
q When A arrives at the latitude of
B, it will have a new zonal velocity (Unew)
faster than its original
velocity UA
č Unew
> UA > UB
č A
northward motion starting at A will arrive to the east of B
č It
looks like there is a “force” pushing the northward motion toward right
č This
apparent force is called “Coriolis force”:
Coriolis Force = f V
where f = 2*W*Sin(lat) and W=7.292x10-5 rad s-1
(from The Earth System)