Coriolis effect

The Coriolis effect is the apparent deflection of moving objects observed in a rotating reference frame. On Earth, it arises from Earth’s rotation and depends on an object’s motion and latitude.

Coriolis acceleration: An acceleration term in a rotating reference frame that acts perpendicular to an object's velocity and the frame's rotation axis. It gives the Coriolis effect its mathematical form in equations of motion.
Atmospheric circulation: The large-scale movement of air that redistributes heat and moisture around a planet. Earth's rotation helps organize this circulation into prevailing winds and rotating systems.
Rotating reference frame: A coordinate system that rotates relative to an inertial frame. Earth-fixed coordinates rotate, so moving objects are described with rotational terms.
Coriolis effect in a bathtub: The claim that Earth's rotation determines the direction water swirls as a bathtub drains. Ordinary drains are dominated by local conditions, not the weak planetary Coriolis effect.
Coriolis parameter: The latitude-dependent quantity f = 2Ω sin φ used to represent Earth's vertical component of rotation in geophysical fluid dynamics. It determines the strength and sign of horizontal deflection at a given latitude.
Ocean gyre: A large system of circulating ocean currents, typically organized around a subtropical or subpolar basin. Coriolis deflection helps set the direction and structure of basin-scale currents.
Inertial frame of reference: A reference frame in which free objects move at constant velocity unless acted on by a net force. The apparent deflection arises in Earth-fixed coordinates, not as an extra force in an inertial frame.
Coriolis effect in ballistics: The correction to a projectile's path caused by Earth's rotation during flight. It is a real, measurable deflection at sufficiently long ranges, unlike the bathtub myth.
Fictitious force: An apparent force introduced when motion is described from an accelerating or rotating reference frame. The Coriolis effect is one example of this broader class of frame-dependent effects.
Trade winds: Persistent tropical easterly winds that blow toward the equatorial low-pressure belt. Earth's rotation deflects air moving toward the equator, contributing to their easterly direction.

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