The Exner function is a parameter used in atmospheric modeling. Depending on the application, the Exner function may be defined as

or as a non-dimensional form

is a standard reference surface pressure (usually taken as 1000 hPa, but sometimes as the surface pressure is the specific gas constant is the specific heat capacity of dry air is the absolute temperature is the potential temperature. The non-dimensional form can be used as a vertical coordinate in some numerical weather prediction applications, resulting in a simpler mathematical formulation compared to using pressure as the vertical coordinate. It is named after Felix Maria von Exner-Ewarten.

References

See also

• Barometric formula

• Climate model

• Euler equations

• Fluid dynamics

• General circulation model

• Numerical weather prediction

• Primitive equations