Chapter 5: Scale Analysis
Scales
What is the typical horizontal length scale and time scale for different
weather phenomena?
Horizontal
Type of motion Time scale (T)
length scale (L)
Cold Front 50 km 1-2 days
Tornado 100 m minutes
Mid-latitude weather system 1000 km several days
Cumulus cloud 1 km tens of minutes
Surf 10 m seconds
Planetary wave 10,000 km weeks - months
European Alps foehn or
10 km hours
Rocky Mountain chinook
The velocity scale (U) can be estimated as L/T.
Dimensional Homogeneity – all terms in an equation have the same
dimensions
Example: Navier-Stokes Equation
∂u ∂u ∂u ∂u 1 ∂p d &∂ 2 u ∂ 2 u ∂ 2 u )
+u +v +w =− + ν ( 2 + 2 + 2 + + (2Ωvsin φ − 2Ωw cos φ )
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂z ρ ∂x ' ∂x ∂y ∂z *
[U ] = [LT ] = # L &
−1
€ [T ] [T ] %$T 2 ('
What units will the ratio of any two terms in this equation have?
€
Physically, what would such a ratio tell us?
Rossby Number – ratio of acceleration of wind (inertial term) and Coriolis
term in Navier-Stokes equation
∂ u ∂t L T2
~
(2Ωvsin φ − 2Ωw cos φ ) 2ΩL T
We can use a wind speed scale, U, and length scale, L, in place of a time
scale, T.
€
∂ u ∂t L T2
~
(2Ωvsin φ − 2Ωw cos φ ) 2ΩL T
1
~
2ΩT
U
Ro ~
2ΩL
€
What is the magnitude of the Rossby number for a mid-latitude weather
system?
€
What does this imply about the role of the Coriolis force in shaping this type
of weather system?
What would cause the Rossby number to be large? What would this imply
about the dynamics of that weather system?
Other non-dimensional numbers
inertial ∂u ∂t U 2 L UL
Reynolds number: Re ~ ~ ~ ~
viscous $∂ 2 u ∂ 2 u ∂ 2 u ' νU L2 ν
ν& 2 + 2 + 2 )
% ∂x ∂y ∂z (
inertial ∂u ∂t U 2 L U 2
Froude number:
€ Fr ~ gravity ~ g ~ g ~ gL
€
Scale Analysis
Scale analysis – a process of simplifying the equations of motion using
typical scales for the phenomenon of interest
Scale analysis of the Navier-Stokes equation
Why would we want to use scale analysis on the Navier-Stokes equation?
What is an example of a non-linear term in the Navier-Stokes equation?
Typical scales for a mid-latitude weather system
Scale Symbol Magnitude
Horizontal wind scale U 10 ms-1
Vertical wind scale W 10-2ms-1
Horizontal length scale L 106 m
Vertical length scale
H 104 m
(depth of troposphere)
Time scale (L/U) T 105 s
Kinematic viscosity n 10-5 m2s-1
Dynamic pressure scale δp ρ 103 m2s-2
Total pressure scale P ρ 105 m2s-2
Gravity € g 10 ms-2
Density variation scale €
δρ ρ 10-2
We will define f = 2Ωsin φ and f 0 = 2Ωsin 45 o = 1.03 ×10 −4 for our analysis.
€
We can then rewrite the Rossby number as:
€ € U
Ro ~
f0 L
€
Scale analysis of the horizontal equations of motion:
∂u ∂u ∂u ∂u 1 ∂pd & ∂ 2u ∂ 2u ) ∂ 2u
x − eqn + u +v +w =− +ν ( 2 + 2 + +ν 2 +2Ωv sin φ −2Ωw cos φ
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂z ρ ∂x ' ∂x ∂y * ∂z
∂v ∂v ∂v ∂v 1 ∂pd &∂ v ∂ v )
2 2
∂ 2v
y − eqn + u +v +w =− +ν ( 2 + 2 + +ν 2 −2Ωusin φ
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂z ρ ∂y ' ∂x ∂y * ∂z
2 2
U U UW δp νU νU
scale 2
f 0U ≈ f 0W
L L H ρL L H2
magnitude 10−4 10−4 10−5 10−3 10 −16
10−12 10−3 10−6
Based on this scale analysis which terms can we neglect if we want to use
€ these equations to forecast how the wind changes over time?
∂u ∂u ∂u 1 ∂p d
+u +v =− + 2Ωvsin φ
∂t ∂x ∂y ρ ∂x
∂v ∂v ∂v 1 ∂p d
+u +v =− − 2Ωu sin φ
∂t ∂x ∂y ρ ∂y
We can define a horizontal Lagrangian (or material) derivative as:
Dh ∂ ∂€ ∂
= +u +v
Dt ∂t ∂x ∂y
This allows us to write our simplified horizontal equations of motion as:
€ Dh u 1 ∂p d
=− + 2Ωvsin φ
Dt ρ ∂x
Dh v 1 ∂p d
=− − 2Ωu sin φ
Dt ρ ∂y
Dh uh 1 ( ∂p ∂p +
⇒ = − * d i + d j - − 2Ω × u h
Dt ρ ) ∂x ∂y ,
Dh uh 1 % ∂p ∂p (
or = − ' d i + d j * − fk × uh
Dt ρ & ∂x ∂y )
€
€
Scale analysis of the vertical equation of motion:
∂w ∂w ∂w ∂w 1 ∂p & ∂ 2w ∂ 2w ) ∂ 2w
z − eqn + u +v +w =− +ν ( 2 + 2 + +ν 2 −g +2Ωucos φ
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂z ρ ∂z ' ∂x ∂y * ∂z
UW UW W2 P νW νW
scale 2
g f 0U
L L H ρH L H2
magnitude 10−7 10−7 10−8 10 10 −19
10−15 10 10−3
Based on this scale analysis which terms can we neglect?
€
1 ∂p
= −g
ρ ∂z
The Geostrophic Approximation
€
Any flow in which Ro → 0 is termed geostrophic.
How small does Ro need to be for the flow to be considered geostrophic?
€
For mid-latitude cyclones Ro = U f o L = 10−1
If we neglect all terms in the horizontal momentum equation that are at
least one order of €magnitude smaller than the largest terms we get:
1 ∂p d
− + 2Ωvsin φ = 0
ρ ∂x
1 ∂p d
− − 2Ωu sin φ = 0
ρ ∂y
This is referred to as the geostrophic approximation.
These equations are€ purely diagnostic – we cannot use them to forecast
the future evolution of the atmosphere.
Geostrophic wind – the component of the total horizontal wind that exactly
satisfies the force balance between the horizontal pressure gradient force
and the Coriolis force
1 ∂p d
ug = −
ρf ∂y
1 ∂p d
vg =
ρf ∂x
Since upper air weather maps are often presented as constant pressure
maps it is useful to rewrite the equations for the geostrophic wind
expressed on a constant pressure surface.
1 ∂Φ
ug = −
f ∂y p
1 ∂Φ
vg =
f ∂x p
Example: Calculate the geostrophic wind from a surface (upper air)
weather map
€
What is the geostrophic wind direction compared to the height contours on
an upper air map? Where is the geostrophic wind strong (weak)?
Cyclonic – flow around an area of low pressure (cyclone)
Anticyclonic – flow around an area of high pressure (anticyclone)
Why does the wind blow in a counterclockwise direction around areas of
low pressure in the Northern hemisphere?
Why do mid-latitude weather systems tend to move from west to east?
