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# **What is a Rossby wave?**

## Rossby waves, also known as **planetary** waves, naturally occur in **rotating fluids**. Within the Earth's **ocean and atmosphere**, these waves form as a result of the **rotation** of the planet. 

*Rossby waves naturally occur in rotating fluids. Within the Earth's ocean and atmosphere, these planetary waves play a significant role in shaping weather. This animation from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center shows both long and short atmospheric waves as indicated by the jet stream. The colors represent the speed of the wind ranging from slowest (light blue colors) to fastest (dark red).*

Oceanic and atmospheric Rossby waves — also known as planetary waves — naturally occur largely due to the Earth's rotation. These waves affect the planet's weather and climate.

## Oceanic Rossby Waves

Waves in the ocean come in many different shapes and sizes. Slow-moving oceanic Rossby waves are fundamentally different from  ocean surface waves. Unlike waves that break along the shore, Rossby waves are  huge, undulating movements of the ocean that stretch horizontally across the planet for hundreds of kilometers in a westward direction. They are so large and massive that they can change Earth's climate conditions. Along with rising sea levels, King Tides, and the effects of El Niño, oceanic Rossby waves  contribute to high tides and coastal flooding in some regions of the world.  

Rossby wave movement is complex.            The horizontal wave speed of a Rossby (the amount of time it takes the wave to travel across an ocean basin) is dependent upon the latitude  of the wave. In the Pacific, for instance, waves at lower latitudes (closer to the equator)  may take months to a year to cross the ocean. Waves that form farther away from the equator (at mid-latitudes)  of the Pacific may take closer to 10 to 20 years to make the journey. The vertical motion of Rossby waves is small  along the ocean's surface and  large  along the deeper thermocline — the transition area between the ocean's warm upper layer and colder depths. This variation in vertical motion of the water's surface can be quite dramatic: the typical vertical movement of the water's surface is generally about 10 centimeters, while the vertical movement of the thermocline for the same wave is approximately 1,000 times greater. In other words, for a 10 centimeter or less surface displacement along the ocean surface, there may be more than 91.4 meters of corresponding vertical movement in the thermocline far below the surface! Due to the  small vertical  movement along the ocean surface, oceanic Rossby waves are undetectable by the human eye. Scientists typically rely on satellite radar altimetry to detect the massive waves.

## Atmospheric Rossby Waves

According to the National Weather Service, atmospheric Rossby waves form primarily as a result of  the Earth's geography. Rossby waves help  transfer heat from the tropics toward the poles and cold air toward the tropics  in an attempt to return atmosphere to balance. They also help locate the jet stream and mark out the track of surface low pressure systems. The slow motion of these waves often results in fairly long, persistent weather patterns.

##### More **Information**

Monthly High Tide Flooding Outlook

 How are satellites used to observe the ocean? 

 What is a tide gauge? 

 Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services 

 Long and Short Waves (National Weather Service) 

##### **Last updated:**

###### 						  10/04/23					

**Author:** NOAA

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