The Wavenumber reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Wavenumber

Wavenumber is defined as wavelength divided by the length of the spatial domain, or equivalently the number of times a wave has the same phase over the spatial domain. The domain might be 2π for the non-dimensional case, or

2πRcos(φ)

for an atmospheric wave, where R is Earth's radius and φ is latitude.

Wavenumber is the spatial analogue of frequency. Wavenumber and frequency can be obtained from grid point data by application of a Fourier transform in space or time, respectively. In the atmospheric sciences, wavenumber-frequency diagrams are a common way of visualizing atmospheric waves.

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