MET 260 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Anemometer, Weather Vane, Centripetal Force
Document Summary
Straightline geostrophic winds: this is wind that results from a balance between the cf and the pgf, travel parallel to isobars, spacing of isobars indicates speed; For geostrophic flow, pgf and cf are in balance. Geostrophic- when above the level of friction, air initially at rest will accelerate unit it flows parallel to the isobars at a steady speed with the pressure gradient for (pgf) balanced by the coriolis force (cf) Air must experience an acceleration to follow a curved path, this acceleration results from the centripetal force. The centripetal force is directed inward toward the center of the circulation, and results from an imbalance between pgf and cf. *pgf is always the same in both, it doesn"t change. *so cf greater in anticyclone, implies faster winds. *but usually pgf greater in cyclone, in real life. At upper-levels of the atmosphere there is no friction so you get geostrophic balance and geostrophic winds.
