Force Balance in the

Atmosphere

Chandan Roy
Force balance
• The four forces discussed previously affect aspects of horizontal wind
speed and direction, and result in a number of common force
balances found throughout Earth’s atmosphere. These force balance
includes:
• Geostrophic Balance
• Gradient Wind
• Atmospheric Boundary Layer
• Cyclostrophic Wind
Geostrophic balance
• Geostrophic balance is the most important force balance in the
atmosphere and holds nearly all the time, except for a few specific
cases scenarios.
• When in geostrophic balance, wind in the atmosphere has a balance
between the pressure gradient force and the Coriolis force.
• In geostrophic balance, PGF = CF. The resulting wind is called a
geostrophic wind.
• Because geostrophic winds are dependent on the pressure gradient,
geostrophic winds are faster when isobars are closely spaced.
Geostrophic balance
• A number of assumptions are implicit to geostrophic balance.
Geostrophic balance applies only under the following conditions:
• Large temporal (>12 hrs) and large spatial (> a few km) scales;
• Above the ABL when no surface friction is acting on the air;
• Winds are steadily moving in a straight direction (no acceleration,
negligible vertical velocity);
• Finally, because the Coriolis force is important for the balance, it
cannot hold at the equator when the CF is 0. The typical bounds are
often given as >2° latitude.
Geostrophic balance
• The path of the geostrophic wind is
parallel to the isobars.
• In the Northern Hemisphere, the
wind direction is parallel to the
straight isobars with the low pressure
to the left side of wind.
• In the Southern Hemisphere, the
direction is parallel to the straight
isobars with the low pressure to the
wind’s right.
• The image below shows the force
balance present in a geostrophic
wind in the northern hemisphere.
Gradient Wind
• This force balance occurs when air is not moving in a
straight line.
• Gradient winds are winds flowing along curved isobars.
• Winds typically blow along isobars, even if they are curved,
but a different name is needed because the force balance
includes one more component (centrifugal force).
• Compared to geostrophic winds, gradient winds feature a
balance between the Coriolis force, the centrifugal force
and the pressure gradient force.
• The centrifugal force arises because the air is flowing on a
curved path. The centrifugal force acts in the same
direction as the Coriolis force, opposite to the pressure
gradient force.
• Gradient wind can flow in a cyclonic or anticyclonic
direction.
 Gradient Wind: Cyclonic Curved
Flow (sub-geostrophic)
The figure above shows the curved (gradient wind) flow
associated with a low pressure center. A curved path
means the direction of the parcel is changing, which
means the parcel is undergoing acceleration
(acceleration is either a change in speed or a change in
direction). If the parcel experiences acceleration, then
the net force on the parcel is not zero. The net force
vector in this case is shown on the figure; it points to the
center of the low, which also represents the center of the
circular path the parcel is riding. Let r represent the
radius of the circular path, and v represent the tangential
speed of the parcel. The net force in this case is called
the "centripetal" (center-pulling) force, and its
magnitude is given as v2/r.
Gradient Wind (Cyclonic curved
flow)
• The resulting speed of the parcel in cyclonic flow is less than the speed a
parcel would have under the same pressure gradient force (acceleration) in
the case of a geostrophic wind. To understand why this is so, we will analyze
the various forces at work. To do so, we will set up a circular reference frame
to match the motion of the parcel. One dimension is the radial distance from
the center of the low outward to the parcel. The other dimension is that
given by the tangent direction to the circular path the parcel is moving along.
• The first force vector to identify is the pressure gradient. The magnitude per
unit mass is given by and the direction of the force is inward. Because
pressure increases with r in this scenario, a minus sign is required to give the
correct direction - opposite increasing r.
Gradient Wind (Cyclonic curved
flow)
• Next, the Coriolis deflection, with magnitude 2Ω⋅v⋅sinΦ points to the
right of the instantaneous velocity vector of the parcel. The parcel's
velocity vector at any instance points in a direction tangent to the
circular path and in a counter-clockwise direction. Consequently, the
Coriolis force points "outward" from the center, in the direction of
increasing r. These two forces are not in balance as they are in the
geostrophic case. The centripetal force represents the net force in this
case, and it points inward, or in the direction of −r. The resulting force
vectors give the equation
Gradient Wind (Cyclonic curved
flow)
• The second version of the gradient wind equation for cyclonic flow
shows why the speed of the gradient wind in this case is less than the
speed of geostrophic wind for the same pressure gradient magnitude.
In the geostrophic case, the term is not there, so if it is removed, the
left side of the equation loses a positive quantity. Consequently, the
Coriolis term on the left hand side must increase in magnitude for it
to balance the constant pressure gradient on the right hand side. The
resulting geostrophic wind speed vg must be greater than the original
gradient wind speed denoted by v. That is, v < vg.
Gradient Wind (Anticyclonic Curved
Flow)
The case for anti-cyclonic flow is very
similar to that for the cyclonic flow in that
all the same forces are in play. However,
their respective directions of the pressure
gradient and Coriolis forces are opposite
those in the case of cyclonic flow. That is,
the pressure gradient force points
outward from the center and the Coriolis
force points inward. The force balance in
this case is:
Gradient Wind (Anticyclonic Curved
Flow)
• The second form of this equation shows the positive contribution of the centripetal
force requires and increase in the geostrophic speed in order for the Coriolis term to
balance the original pressure gradient magnitude. This means the anticyclonic
gradient wind speed v is greater than the geostrophic wind speed vg for the same
pressure gradient magnitude.
• Even though anticyclonic wind speeds are called "super geostrophic," this does not
imply that wind speeds associated with high pressure centers or ridges are, generally,
greater than those associated with low pressure centers and troughs. The relative
winds speeds of anticyclonic, geostrophic, and cyclonic flows are based on pressure
gradient force magnitudes that are EQUAL between all three scenarios. In reality, the
pressure gradients associated with lows and troughs are GREATER than those
associated with highs and centers, so observed cyclonic wind speeds are typically
faster than those observed around high pressure centers and ridges.
Atmospheric Boundary Layer
• Balanced wind in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) occurs when
there is a balance between the pressure gradient force, Coriolis force,
and the frictional drag force.
• Both wind shear turbulence (change in wind direction and/or wind
speed over a specific horizontal or vertical distance) and convective
turbulence cause drag, which results in the ABL wind being slower
than geostrophic wind and causes the wind to cross isobars toward
the low pressure.
• The frictional drag force acts in the plane of motion and slows down
the wind speed.
Atmospheric Boundary Layer
• The pressure gradient force
doesn’t change, but because the
wind speed is slower, the Coriolis
force is weaker.
• When that happens, the wind
cannot balance the pressure
gradient force, it is pulled more
by the pressure gradient force,
and turns toward the low
pressure.
Cyclostrophic wind
• Cyclostrophic wind occurs at
smaller cyclonic scales (at the
mesoscale) such as tornadoes,
waterspouts, and even the center
of a tropical cyclone.
• Because the scale is small, the
Coriolis force does not play a
role.
Cyclostrophic wind
• When a small cyclonic scale such as a tornado first forms, both
tangential winds and centrifugal force increase much faster than the
Coriolis force due to the very strong pressure gradient force.
• As a result, centrifugal force balances with the pressure gradient force,
ignoring the negligible effects of Coriolis force.
• Because the scale is small and independent of the Coriolis force, the
direction of cyclostrophic winds can be either clockwise or
counterclockwise in both hemispheres.
• For anticyclones or highs, however, they do not typically have strong
pressure gradients. Thus, winds around the high are too weak to be in
cyclostrophic balance.