Coriolis parameter

Coriolis parameter

[kȯr·ē′ō·ləs pə′ram·əd·ər] (geophysics) Twice the component of the earth's angular velocity about the local vertical 2Ω sin φ, where Ω is the angular speed of the earth and φ is the latitude; the magnitude of the Coriolis force per unit mass on a horizontally moving fluid parcel is equal to the product of the Coriolis parameter and the speed of the parcel.