THE ADJUSTMENT OF WIND TO EKMAN FLOW WITHIN THE PLANETARY BOUNDARY LAYER

By using simple barotropic boundary layer equations with constant eddy viscosity,the analytical solution is obtained under the initial condition that the distribution of wind for a given pressure is not the well-known Ekman flow.We have found that the wind will finally adjust to the Ekman flow at a rate faster than that of geostrophic adjustment.We have also found that the thinner the boundary layer,the faster the rate of adjustment.