Dines compensation

Term · Meteorology and atmospheric science · MLC-T-MET-005024

The principle, credited to William Dines, that divergence in one layer of the atmosphere is largely balanced by convergence in another, so the vertically integrated divergence of an air column is nearly zero. Divergence aloft is therefore usually accompanied by convergence below, with ascending motion linking the two layers. It follows from mass continuity and explains why surface pressure changes are small compared with the changes that divergence in a single layer would produce.

Table 1. Record
Identifier	MLC-T-MET-005024
Field	Meteorology and atmospheric science

Record as JSON

{
  "id": "MLC-T-MET-005024",
  "term": "Dines compensation",
  "field": "Meteorology and atmospheric science",
  "definition": "The principle, credited to William Dines, that divergence in one layer of the atmosphere is largely balanced by convergence in another, so the vertically integrated divergence of an air column is nearly zero. Divergence aloft is therefore usually accompanied by convergence below, with ascending motion linking the two layers. It follows from mass continuity and explains why surface pressure changes are small compared with the changes that divergence in a single layer would produce.",
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/meteorology/dines-compensation/"
}

Record 2,669 of 10,756 in Meteorology and atmospheric science terminology (MLC-0110). Request the full dataset.