The momentum of a body taking a curved path; for a rotating planet, angular momentum is defined as the moment of the linear momentum of a particle about a point, thus:
where M is the angular momentum about a point 0,
the position vector from 0 to the particle, m the mass of the particle, and
the velocity. As Rossby (1940)
Q. J. Royal Met. Soc. 66, 68 explains, the Earth’s angular momentum can easily be visualized by taking a marble on the end of a string and rotating it on a smooth table. If the string is shortened the rate increases; if lengthened it slows. The speed is inversely proportional to radius. Thus, part of the atmospheric envelope, rotating with the Earth at the equator, moves polewards, it will tend to speed up; see conservation of angular momentum.