roughness length

noun

A parameter of some vertical wind profile equations that model the horizontal mean wind speed near the ground; in the log wind profile, it is equivalent to the height at which the wind speed theoretically becomes zero.

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Meanings

nounroughness length (plural roughness lengths)

plural roughness lengths

  1. A parameter of some vertical wind profile equations that model the horizontal mean wind speed near the ground; in the log wind profile, it is equivalent to the height at which the wind speed theoretically becomes zero.

Origin

So called because it is typically related to the height of terrain roughness elements.

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Cite this entry
APA

roughness length. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roughness%20length

MLA

“roughness length.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roughness%20length. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “roughness length,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roughness%20length.

Source: roughness length on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.