rcontinelli Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Is it physically possible for the horizontal pressure gradient force to be equal to the vertical pressure gradient force (assuming hydro static balance)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTRWx Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 On 3/23/2017 at 5:48 PM, rcontinelli said: Is it physically possible for the horizontal pressure gradient force to be equal to the vertical pressure gradient force (assuming hydro static balance)? Wouldn't hydrostatic balance imply that the horizontal pressure gradient force would need be 0 for them to be equal? Here's a fun tool. http://www.shodor.org/os411/courses/_master/tools/calculators/pgf/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTRWx Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 On 3/23/2017 at 5:48 PM, rcontinelli said: Is it physically possible for the horizontal pressure gradient force to be equal to the vertical pressure gradient force (assuming hydro static balance)? The one other idea I thought of is maybe a completely symmetrical dines compensation scenario where the horizontal distance between a super strong low and high pressure system was exactly the same as the height of the tropopause. Highly unlikely, but I too wonder the possibility? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Marusak Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 theoretical thought on this.... given the pressure gradient in the vertical (omega component) in the troposphere (150hPa in ~1.6km, 500hPa in ~5.7km); in a global, synoptic, and even large mesoscale sense, I just can't imagine a scenario where this can realistically happen in the horizontal (u-v components). in the small mesoscale and microscale, I could see it as possible, with the thing remotely closest to it being a tornado. But even then, I don't think the pressure drop between the outer environment and inside the wall of the strongest vorticies is remotely close to that, if I remember correctly. and given the hydrostatic dynamic also assumed here, that means that vertically, this could only go so far before gravity took over and dampened the effectofanypressur e gradient force in the vertical. so, the only way, imho, in which what you are thinking about in theory can happen, is if you suspended hydrostatic balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amped Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 You would need a strong tornado to get that much of a horizontal pressure gradient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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