ESS55
Prof. Jin-Yi Yu
Coriolis
Force
UA
UB
q First,
Point A rotates faster than Point B (UA > UB)
č UA > UB
č A northward motion starting at A will arrive
to the east of B
č It looks like there is a “force” pushing the
northward motion toward right
č This apparent force is called “Coriolis
force”:
Coriolis Force
= f
V
where
f = 2*W*Sin(lat) and W=7.292x10-5 rad
s-1
(from The Earth System)