Home > Terms > English (EN) > longitudinal rolls
longitudinal rolls
Atmospheric coherent structures in the form of persistent organized counterrotating roll vortices that are approximately aligned with the mean wind and span the depth of the planetary boundary layer. Longitudinal rolls are frequently present in the atmospheric boundary layer in near-neutral to moderately unstable stratification. They are believed to be the result of nonlinear equilibration of mixed convective–dynamic normal mode instabilities of the mean boundary flow. Longitudinal rolls produce a nonlocal transport not only of momentum, but also of scalar quantities that mix the boundary layer more efficiently than local turbulent diffusion. The quasi-two-dimensional longitudinal rolls generate a mean secondary circulation that organizes the smaller-scale three- dimensional turbulent eddies into linear patterns. The existence of longitudinal rolls significantly changes the fluxes within the boundary layer and at the surface. Flux profiles also differ between the updraft and downdraft regions of longitudinal rolls. In favorable thermodynamic conditions cloud streets (linear boundary layer cloud patterns) form in the updraft regions between the rolls. See coherent structures, Langmuir circulation, two-dimensional eddies, horizontal convective rolls.
- Part of Speech: noun
- Synonym(s):
- Blossary:
- Industry/Domain: Weather
- Category: Meteorology
- Company: AMS
- Product:
- Acronym-Abbreviation:
Other Languages:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Billy Morgan
Sports; Snowboarding
The British snowboarder Billy Morgan has landed the sport’s first ever 1800 quadruple cork. The rider, who represented Great Britain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was in Livigno, Italy, when he achieved the man-oeuvre. It involves flipping four times, while body also spins with five complete rotations on a sideways or downward-facing axis. The trick ...
Marzieh Afkham
Broadcasting & receiving; News
Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east Asia, the state news agency reported. It is not clear to which country she will be posted as her appointment has yet to be announced officially. Afkham will only be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Under the last shah’s rule, Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a ...
Weekly Packet
Language; Online services; Slang; Internet
Weekly Packet or "Paquete Semanal" as it is known in Cuba is a term used by Cubans to describe the information that is gathered from the internet outside of Cuba and saved onto hard drives to be transported into Cuba itself. Weekly Packets are then sold to Cuban's without internet access, allowing them to obtain information just days - and sometimes hours - after it ...
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Banking; Investment banking
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to address the need in Asia for infrastructure development. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs $800 billion each year for roads, ports, power plants or other infrastructure projects before 2020. Originally proposed by China in 2013, a signing ...
Spartan
Online services; Internet
Spartan is the codename given to the new Microsoft Windows 10 browser that will replace Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. The new browser will be built from the ground up and disregard any code from the IE platform. It has a new rendering engine that is built to be compatible with how the web is written today. The name Spartan is named after the ...
Featured Terms
Talon
Talon is the father of Malon and owner of Lon Lon Ranch who first appears in Ocarina of Time. Link first finds him sleeping outside Hyrule castle, ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
Browers Terms By Category
- General furniture(461)
- Oriental rugs(322)
- Bedding(69)
- Curtains(52)
- Carpets(40)
- Chinese antique furniture(36)
Home furnishings(1084) Terms
- Organic chemistry(2762)
- Toxicology(1415)
- General chemistry(1367)
- Inorganic chemistry(1014)
- Atmospheric chemistry(558)
- Analytical chemistry(530)
Chemistry(8305) Terms
- Conferences(3667)
- Event planning(177)
- Exhibition(1)
Convention(3845) Terms
- Hats & caps(21)
- Scarves(8)
- Gloves & mittens(8)
- Hair accessories(6)