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Rossbywave
term for all sand waves with shapes similar to small-scale ripples, regardless
of their size. Types of small-scale ripples are current ripples (asymmetric) and
wave ripples (symmetric). ~Cross-bedding.
river run-off the part of precipitation on land that appears in surface streams. It
does not include flow through artificial diversions, storage basins or other
constructions.
river water the excess precipitation over evaporation from the continents carries 700000 m 3 S-I river water, loaded with small amounts of inorganic particulate and inorganic dissolved material (salts), to the oceans and seas. This
particulate material, 8 10 9 ton y-I is produced by erosion and weathering of
rocks, and is mainly deposited in estuaries and near-coastal regions. The
soluble material from weathering amounts to about 90 g m- 3 and consists of
HC0 3 -, Ca2+, Si0 2 , S042-, CI-, Na+, Mg2+, and K+.
RMT Rectangular Midwater Trawl, ~nets.
RNA (ribonucleic acid) a polynucleotide that governs protein synthesis in a cell,
existing in a variety of forms serving particular functions, such as messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA.
rocky shore zonation the presence of a distinctive vertical zonation pattern of
communities on rocky shores, each community characterized by different
dominant species. This pattern is established under the influence of the tidal
regime and local topography and depends mainly on the various grades of
exposure to desiccation intertidal organisms can withstand.
rosette sampler ~seawater sampler.
Rossby number Ro, named after the Swedish meteorologist c.-G. Rossby
(1898-1957), gives the ratio between the inertial forces of a current with a
typical speed U over a typical length scale L, and the Coriolis force. It equals
Ro = UlfL, where f is the Corio lis parameter. If Ro is small the Coriolis effect is
more important than the inertia, a condition that should apply for geostrophic balance.
Rossby wave (or planetary wave) is a north-south oscillation of zonally moving
water elements under the influence of the interaction between the inertia
and the latitudinal change of the Corio lis parameter. The frequency of these
waves is much lower than this parameter. This yields, in the ocean, time
scales in the order of a few months and wavelengths of a few hundred kilometers. In a Rossby wave total vorticity is conserved, with a continuous conversion of relative into planetary vorticity and vice versa.
Rossbywave
term for all sand waves with shapes similar to small-scale ripples, regardless
of their size. Types of small-scale ripples are current ripples (asymmetric) and
wave ripples (symmetric). ~Cross-bedding.
river run-off the part of precipitation on land that appears in surface streams. It
does not include flow through artificial diversions, storage basins or other
constructions.
river water the excess precipitation over evaporation from the continents carries 700000 m 3 S-I river water, loaded with small amounts of inorganic particulate and inorganic dissolved material (salts), to the oceans and seas. This
particulate material, 8 10 9 ton y-I is produced by erosion and weathering of
rocks, and is mainly deposited in estuaries and near-coastal regions. The
soluble material from weathering amounts to about 90 g m- 3 and consists of
HC0 3 -, Ca2+, Si0 2 , S042-, CI-, Na+, Mg2+, and K+.
RMT Rectangular Midwater Trawl, ~nets.
RNA (ribonucleic acid) a polynucleotide that governs protein synthesis in a cell,
existing in a variety of forms serving particular functions, such as messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA.
rocky shore zonation the presence of a distinctive vertical zonation pattern of
communities on rocky shores, each community characterized by different
dominant species. This pattern is established under the influence of the tidal
regime and local topography and depends mainly on the various grades of
exposure to desiccation intertidal organisms can withstand.
rosette sampler ~seawater sampler.
Rossby number Ro, named after the Swedish meteorologist c.-G. Rossby
(1898-1957), gives the ratio between the inertial forces of a current with a
typical speed U over a typical length scale L, and the Coriolis force. It equals
Ro = UlfL, where f is the Corio lis parameter. If Ro is small the Coriolis effect is
more important than the inertia, a condition that should apply for geostrophic balance.
Rossby wave (or planetary wave) is a north-south oscillation of zonally moving
water elements under the influence of the interaction between the inertia
and the latitudinal change of the Corio lis parameter. The frequency of these
waves is much lower than this parameter. This yields, in the ocean, time
scales in the order of a few months and wavelengths of a few hundred kilometers. In a Rossby wave total vorticity is conserved, with a continuous conversion of relative into planetary vorticity and vice versa.