Spindrift wind. Some sources regard "spoondrift" as a direct alternative to "spindrift" in all its uses. In Greek and Roman mythology, Leucothea is considered the goddess of spindrift. Spindrift Spindrift (more rarely spoondrift) usually refers to spray, particularly to the spray blown from cresting waves during a gale. This spray, which "drifts" in the direction of the gale, is one of the characteristics of a wind speed of 8 Beaufort and higher at sea. In Great Britain "spindrift" is the telltale sign used by mariners to define a Force 8 (Beaufort Scale) wind (not higher) when observed at sea. See this
Geostrophic wind depends on the local Rossby number. It is invalid at the equator, because "f" is equal to zero there, and therefore generally not used in the tropics. Other variants of the equation are possible; for example, the geostrophic wind vector can be expressed in terms of the gradient of the geopotential Φ on a surface of constant pressure: Geostrophic wind The geostrophic wind () is the theoretical wind that would result from an exact balance between the Coriolis force and the pressure gradient force. This condition is called geostrophic balance. The geostrophic wind is directed parallel to isobars (lines of