Atmospheric Rossby Waves
See also: Rossby waveRossby waves in the atmosphere are easy to observe as (usually 4-6) large-scale meanders of the jet stream across the Northern or Southern Hemispheres. When these loops become very pronounced, they detach the masses of cold, or warm, air that become cyclones and anticyclones and are responsible for day-to-day weather patterns at mid-latitudes.
The wave speed is given by
where c is the wave speed, u is the mean westerly flow, is the Rossby parameter, and k is the total wavenumber.
Furthermore, the Rossby parameter is defined:
φ is the latitude, ω is the angular speed of the Earth's rotation, and a is the mean radius of the Earth.
Read more about this topic: Synoptic Scale Meteorology
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