Burger number
Published: March 30, 2010, 12:00 am
Updated: December 21, 2011, 11:08 am
This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor:
C Michael Hogan
Burger number is a dimensionless number indicative of the importance of baroclinicity in a flow field. It is the square of the ratio of the Rossby radius of deformation to the horizontal scale of the flow, and is given by:
Bu = NH/fL
where N is the buoyancy frequency, H the vertical scale of the flow (i.e. the depth), f is the inertial frequency, and L the horizontal scale of the flow. A Burger number of zero indicates a rotation dominated flow, while large values indicate stratification dominated flows. This was named for the mathematician and meteorologist Alewyn Burger.
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Citation
Steve Baum (Lead Author);C Michael Hogan (Topic Editor) "Burger number". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth March 30, 2010; Last revised Date December 21, 2011; Retrieved May 25, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Burger_number>
The Author
Assistant Research Scientist, Physical Section
Department of Oceanography
Texas A&M University ... (Full Bio)
Burger number is a dimensionless number indicative of the importance of baroclinicity in a flow field. It is the square of the ratio of the Rossby radius of deformation to the horizontal scale of the flow, and is given by:
Bu = NH/fL
where N is the buoyancy frequency, H the vertical scale of the flow (i.e. the depth), f is the inertial frequency, and L the horizontal scale of the flow. A Burger number of zero indicates a rotation dominated flow, while large values indicate stratification dominated flows. This was named for the mathematician and meteorologist Alewyn Burger.
|
This article is written at a definitional level only. Authors wishing to improve this entry are inivited to expand the present treatment, which additions will be peer reviewed prior to publication of any expansion. |
Further Reading
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