Definition
Earth rotation, excitation atmospheric. The amount of forcing of variable rotation of the Earth by the atmosphere, through exchanges of angular momentum with the solid Earth.
Introduction
The rotation of the Earth is not constant; its variability is caused in large measure by the actions of the geophysical fluids that surround it, principally the atmosphere. It is the action of exchanges of angular momentum between the atmosphere and the solid Earth that cause much of the changes in Earth rotation variation. The excitations are changes in angular momentum scaled to the units of Earth rotation related to physical constants of the atmosphere and solid Earth.
In its equatorial plane, the variations of Earth rotation are seen as variations in latitude and are known as wobbles of the Earth rotation vector or polar motion. In the axial direction, they change the rotation rate, which is reckoned in changes in the length of day and its integral, Universal Time.
The explanation for...
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References and Reading
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Salstein, D. (2023). Earth Rotation, Excitation, Atmospheric. In: Sideris, M.G. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geodesy. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_86-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_86-1
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