Wind factor

wind factor

1. In air navigation, a measure of the net effect of wind on the ground speed of an aircraft.

   
   

   It is the magnitude of the wind vector component parallel to the heading(s) of an aircraft, averaged over the entire flight; positive if a tailwind, negative if a headwind:

   

   The wind factor accounts for the retarding effect of a crosswind.

   
   
2. In oceanography, the ratio of the velocity of an ocean surface current to the velocity of the wind.

   
   

   Its numerical value is of the order of a few hundredths and is inversely dependent upon the depth of frictional influence (
   see Ekman spiral) at that point in the ocean. In sufficiently shallow water, the actual depth is the controlling factor.

   
   

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