Ekman layer

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The Ekman layer (after Vagn Walfrid Ekman ) is the main part of an atmospheric boundary layer .

It begins at the upper limit of the Prandtl layer, named after Ludwig Prandtl , at a height of about 100 m and extends to about 1000 m, the upper limit of the atmospheric boundary layer. Thus it can be seen as the lower half of the peplosphere .

The Ekman layer in the northern hemisphere is characterized by a wind turn to the right and only a slight increase in wind. If the winds measured in the individual height levels of the Ekman layer are plotted according to direction and speed, the tip of the wind arrows describes an Ekman spiral .

source

  • The Brockhaus, Weather and Climate, FA Brockhaus GmbH. Leipzig, Mannheim 2009.