gradient

A mathematical concept from vector analysis used in theoretical Meteorology. Applied to a scalar field - such as that of atmospheric pressure or temperature -, it is a vector whose direction coincides with the direction in which that field varies most rapidly, and whose magnitude represents the rate of change in the direction indicated. In algebraic equations it is expressed with the nabla operator ( ∇ ) followed by the corresponding function. For example, the temperature gradient is denoted ∇ T.