inertia wave
inertia wave
[i′nər·shə ‚wāv] (fluid mechanics)
Any wave motion in which no form of energy other than kinetic energy is present; in this general sense, Helmholtz waves, barotropic disturbances, Rossby waves, and so forth, are inertia waves.
More restrictedly, a wave motion in which the source of kinetic energy of the disturbance is the rotation of the fluid about some given axis; in the atmosphere a westerly wind system is such a source, the inertia waves here being, in general, stable.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.