Marine Glossary

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edge effects on wind

In our textbook terminology, this means any effect of the terrain on the wind flow that causes it to be different near the shoreline compared to a bit farther offshore.

The causes are either due to friction changes, there is more wind friction on land compared to water, and thus the wind veers on entering the water and backs on leaving the water. This means the wind along a low windward shore will be slightly backed from farther off, and more veered near a low leeward shore.

Or we can have wind changes near the shoreline due to wind channeling along a steeper coastal terrain.

The type of effect we get depends largely on the shape and height of the shoreline. See section 6.1 in Modern Marine Weather.

A special edge effect occurs near low corners in the waterway, called the corner effect. See Corner effect.