slowerchanging
Slowerchanging is a term used in discussions of dynamical processes to describe variables or components whose changes occur at rates slower than a chosen reference timescale. The term is relative and its meaning depends on the context and the timescale of interest. It is often applied in modeling to distinguish slow variables from faster ones and to justify simplifications such as quasi-static or adiabatic approximations.
Criteria and measurement: A common criterion is the characteristic timescale τ of a variable, defined as the
Examples: In climate science, ocean temperatures and ice sheet dynamics are typically slowerchanging relative to daily
Relation to modeling: Recognizing slowerchanging components supports methods such as timescale separation, multi-scale modeling, and reduced-order