thermal Rossby number
From Glossary of Meteorology
The nondimensional ratio of the inertial force due to the thermal wind and the Coriolis force in the flow of a fluid heated from below:
Compare Rossby number;
see thermal instability.
where f is the Coriolis parameter, L a characteristic length, and UT a characteristic thermal wind. The characteristic thermal wind is
where g is the acceleration of gravity, ε the coefficient of thermal expansion, Δrθ/Δr a characteristic radial temperature gradient, and δ depth of the fluid.
Compare Rossby number;
see thermal instability.
