Barotropic Vorticity Equation

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Barotropic Vorticity Equation

The vorticity equation in the absence of horizontal divergence and vertical motion, so that the absolute vorticity of a parcel is conserved:

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src="equat/zetasm.gif" width=12 is the relative vorticity and f is the coriolis parameter.
This equation may also be interpreted as governing vertically averaged flow in which divergence is present but wind direction is constant with height. See equivalent barotropic model.

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use