Rossby wave
Physics and Meteorology
noun
A long-wavelength fluctuation of a current in a fluid system having no divergence and subject to a Coriolis force; especially a lateral fluctuation of a jet stream, with wavelength comparable with the radius of the earth.
- Rossby first described such waves in 1939 (Jrnl. Marine Res. 2 38–55)..
Origin
1950s.