Editing Rossby number (section)

{{Short description|Ratio of inertial force to Coriolis force}}
[[File:Rossbynumber.png|thumb|Value of the Rossby Number and associated balanced flows around a low pressure storm.]]
The '''Rossby number''' ('''Ro'''), named for [[Carl-Gustav Arvid Rossby]], is a [[dimensionless number]] used in describing fluid flow. The Rossby number is the ratio of inertial force to [[Coriolis force]], terms <math>|\mathbf{v} \cdot \nabla \mathbf{v}| \sim U^2 / L</math> and <math>\Omega \times \mathbf{v} \sim U\Omega</math> in the [[Navier–Stokes equations]] respectively.<ref name="Abbot">{{cite book |title=Coastal, Estuarial, and Harbour Engineers' Reference Book |author=M. B. Abbott & W. Alan Price |page= 16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmlqje7hr_4C&dq=centrifugal+Rossby&pg=PA16
|isbn=0-419-15430-2 |year=1994 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref><ref name="Banerjee">{{cite book |title=Oceanography for beginners |year=2004 |page= 98 |author=Pronab K Banerjee |isbn=81-7764-653-2 |publisher=Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd. |location=Mumbai, India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t3pMEnSQlY8C&dq=centrifugal+Rossby&pg=PA98}}</ref> It is commonly used in [[geophysics|geophysical]] phenomena in the [[oceans]] and [[earth's atmosphere|atmosphere]], where it characterizes the importance of [[Coriolis effect|Coriolis accelerations]] arising from [[planet]]ary [[rotation]]. It is also known as the '''Kibel number'''.<ref name="Boubnov">{{cite book |title=Convection in Rotating Fluids |author=B. M. Boubnov, G. S. Golitsyn |page=8 |isbn=0-7923-3371-3 |year=1995 |publisher=Springer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KOmZVfrnlW0C&dq=Kibel+%22Rossby+number%22&pg=PA8}}</ref>