Article
Article
Thermal wind
Article By:
Houghton, David D. Department of Meteorology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.
Last reviewed:June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.689750
The difference in the geostrophic wind between two heights in the atmosphere over a given position on Earth. It approximates the variation of the actual winds with height for large-scale and slowly changing motions of the atmosphere. Such structure in the wind field is of fundamental importance to the description of the atmosphere and to processes causing its day-to-day changes. The thermal wind embodies a basic relationship between vertical fluctuations of the horizontal wind and horizontal temperature gradients in the atmosphere. This relationship arises from the combination of the geostrophic wind law, the hydrostatic equation, and the gas law.
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
