Rossby wave

A large-scale wave in a rotating fluid whose restoring influence comes from the change in planetary rotation with latitude. Rossby waves shape atmospheric circulation and ocean currents.

Coriolis effect: The apparent deflection of moving objects in a rotating reference frame, caused by that frame’s rotation. Its variation with latitude supplies the restoring influence that lets Rossby waves propagate.
Jet stream: A narrow band of strong winds in the upper atmosphere, usually flowing from west to east. Rossby waves meander the jet stream and help organize persistent ridges and troughs.
Gravity wave: A wave in a fluid whose restoring force is gravity or buoyancy. Unlike Rossby waves, gravity waves are restored mainly by buoyancy rather than planetary rotation gradients.
Coriolis parameter: The latitude-dependent rate used to represent the Coriolis effect in equations for rotating fluids. Its north–south gradient is the planetary parameter behind the beta effect.
Potential vorticity: A fluid quantity combining rotation and stratification that is conserved under ideal, frictionless flow. Rossby-wave motion can be understood as fluid parcels conserving potential vorticity as they move north or south.
Blocking (meteorology): A persistent disruption of the usual westerly circulation that can hold weather patterns in place. Large-amplitude Rossby-wave patterns can form the ridges and cut-off systems associated with blocking.
Kelvin wave: A coastal or equatorial wave whose motion is trapped by a boundary or the equator and balanced by rotation. Kelvin waves propagate along boundaries or the equator, unlike the broad planetary patterns of Rossby waves.
Geostrophic balance: A balance between pressure-gradient force and Coriolis force in large-scale, slowly evolving flow. Many large-scale Rossby waves evolve within approximately geostrophic atmospheric or oceanic currents.
Beta plane: An approximation that treats the Coriolis parameter as varying linearly with latitude near a chosen location. It captures the planetary rotation gradient in the simplest equations for Rossby waves.
Teleconnection: A persistent statistical relationship between weather or climate variations in widely separated regions. Atmospheric Rossby-wave trains can link circulation changes across distant regions.

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