ESS228
Prof. Jin-Yi Yu
Rossby
Radius of Deformation
•In atmospheric
dynamics and physical oceanography, the Rossby radius of deformation is the length scale at which rotational effects become as important
as buoyancy or gravity wave
effects in the evolution of the flow about some disturbance.
•“deformation”: It is the radius that the direction of the
flow will be “deformed”
by the Coriolis force from straight down the pressure gradient to be in parallel to the isobars.
•The size of the radius
depends on the stratification (how density or potential temperature changes with height) and Coriolis
parameter.
• The Rossby radius
is considerably larger near the equator.
For
Barotropic Flow
For
Baroclinic Flow
Brunt-Vaisala frequency
equivalent depth
water depth
