Re: planetary and atmospheric rotation - origins, direction, etc

: Tim Little <tim@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
: It has a lot to do with what the ground is doing.  If Earth's
: atmosphere was decoupled from the ground, then Coriolis effects would
: be absent. 

Coriolis forces have nothing do do with whether the atmosphere is
"coupled"
to the earth or not.  They have only to do with whoat coordinates are
being used.

If you interpose a completely frictionless membrane along the ground,
to isolate the air from any lateral influence from the ground, it'd
still experience coriolis forces.  Indeed, even if you meant that
the atmosphere was motionless in an inertial frame, and you were using
coordinates where the ground is motionless, the atmosphere would *still*
be subject to the coriolis effect; it would simply be cancelled out
by the centrifugal effect, for the most part.  The coriolis force on
an object moving antispinward is equal and opposite to the centrifugal
force on an object at that distance from the center.

"Coriolis forces" have little to do with the observEE,
and much to do with the observER.

I dunno.  Maybe I'm just not understanding what you mean by
"decoupling" the atmosphere.


Wayne Throop   throopw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
   http://sheol.org/throopw