SINCE 1828
baroclinic instability
nounDefinition of baroclinic instability
meteorology
: an imbalance in the levels of pressure and density in a fluid that is one of the mechanisms determining the behavior of the earth's atmosphere
The instability that causes these particular disturbances is called a baroclinic instability which occurs when the latitudinal temperature differences become too large.— James B. Pollack, The New Solar System, 1981
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