Baroclinity Baroclinity Bohai Bay Category="Fluid dynamics"In Fluid dynamics, the baroclinity (sometimes called baroclinicity) is a measure of the Stratification in a fluid. A baroclinic atmosphere is one for which the density depends on both the temperature and the pressure; contrast this with Barotropic atmosphere, for which the density depends only on the pressure.

Baroclinity is proportional to

: ∇ p × ∇ ρ

which again is proportional to the angle between surfaces of constant Pressure and surfaces of constant Density. Thus, in a barotropic fluid (which is defined by zero baroclinity), these surfaces are parallel.

Areas of high atmospheric baroclinity are characterized by the frequent formation of cyclones.