eddy

In a turbulent fluid, each of the units or elements evolving within it and which, despite tracing an erratic motion, maintain a certain identity of their own for some time. Each eddy coexists and interacts with those it encounters along its path, of highly varied sizes. In the atmosphere, we have eddies ranging from just a few centimeters (mainly responsible for the vertical mixing of air in the atmosphere) up to hundreds of kilometers, which play an important role in atmospheric dynamics at regional and planetary scale. Turbulent eddies are also known as eddies.