Baroclinity
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In fluid dynamics, the baroclinity (sometimes called baroclinicity) is a measure of the stratification in a fluid. A baroclinic atmosphere is one for which the density depends on both the temperature and the pressure; contrast this with barotropic atmosphere, for which the density depends only on the pressure.
Baroclinity is proportional to
- <math>\nabla p \times \nabla \rho<math>
which again is proportional to the angle between surfaces of constant pressure and surfaces of constant density. Thus, in a barotropic fluid (which is defined by zero baroclinity), these surfaces are parallel.
Areas of high atmospheric baroclinity are characterized by the frequent formation of cyclones.de:Baroklinität