Free atmosphere

From Glossary of Meteorology



free atmosphere[edit | edit source]

(Sometimes called free air.) That portion of the earth's atmosphere, above the planetary boundary layer, in which the effect of the earth's surface friction on the air motion is negligible, and in which the air is usually treated (dynamically) as an ideal fluid.

The base of the free atmosphere is usually taken as the geostrophic wind level.


  1. A gaseous envelope gravitationally bound to a celestial body (e.g., a planet, its satellite, or a star).
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