Baroclinity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In fluid dynamics, the baroclinity (sometimes called baroclinicity) is a measure of the stratification in a fluid. A baroclinic atmosphere is one for which the density depends on both the temperature and the pressure; contrast this with barotropic atmosphere, for which the density depends only on the pressure. In atmospheric terms, the barotropic zones of the Earth are generally found in thecentral lattitudes, or tropics, whereas the baroclinic areas are generally found in the mid-lattitude/polar regions.
Baroclinity is proportional to
- <math>\nabla p \times \nabla \rho</math>
which again is proportional to the angle between surfaces of constant pressure and surfaces of constant density. Thus, in a barotropic fluid (which is defined by zero baroclinity), these surfaces are parallel.
Areas of high atmospheric baroclinity are characterized by the frequent formation of cyclones.
