Middle Atmosphere

✍ Scribed by R. Alan Plumb, Robert A. Vincent (auth.), R. Alan Plumb, Robert A. Vincent (eds.)

• Publisher: Birkhäuser Basel
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 465
• Series: Pageoph Topical Volumes
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

PAGEOPH, stratosphere, these differences provide us with new evidence, interpretation of which can materially help to advance our understanding of stratospheric dynamics in general. It is now weil established that smaller-scale motions-in particular gravity waves and turbulence-are of fundamental importance in the general circulation of the mesosphere; they seem to be similarly, if less spectacularly, significant in the troposphere, and probably also in the stratosphere. Our understanding of these motions, their effects on the mean circulation and their mutual interactions is progressing rapidly, as is weil illustrated by the papers in this issue; there are reports of observational studies, especially with new instruments such as the Japanese MV radar, reviews of the state of theory, a laboratory study and an analysis of gravity waves and their effects in the high resolution "SKYHI" general circulation model. There are good reasons to suspect that gravity waves may be of crucial significance in making the stratospheric circulation the way it is (modeling experience being one suggestive piece of evidence for this). Direct observational proof has thus far been prevented by the difficulty of making observations of such scales of motion in this region; in one study reported here, falling sphere observations are used to obtain information on the structure and intensity of waves in the upper stratosphere.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages i-vi
Introduction....Pages 149-150
Earlier Days of Gravity Waves Revisited....Pages 151-170
A Note on Some Early Radiosonde Temperature Observations in the Antarctic Lower Stratosphere....Pages 171-180
The Impact of Base-Level Analyses on Stratospheric Circulation Statistics for the Southern Hemisphere....Pages 181-194
Comparison of Data and Derived Quantities for the Middle Atmosphere of the Southern Hemisphere....Pages 195-212
Some Comparisons between the Middle Atmosphere Dynamics of the Southern and Northern Hemispheres....Pages 213-232
On the Seasonal Cycle of Stratospheric Planetary Waves....Pages 233-242
Body Force Circulations in a Compressible Atmosphere: Key Concepts....Pages 243-262
Satellite Data Analysis of Ozone Differences in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres....Pages 263-275
Further Evidence of Normal Mode Rossby Waves....Pages 277-289
Monthly Mean Winds in the Mesosphere at 44S and 78S....Pages 291-301
Radar Observations of Prevailing Winds and Waves in the Southern Hemisphere Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere....Pages 303-318
Comparison of Geostrophic and Nonlinear Balanced Winds from LIMS Data and Implications for Derived Dynamical Quantities....Pages 319-342
A Review of Gravity Wave Saturation Processes, Effects, and Variability in the Middle Atmosphere....Pages 343-371
Theory of Internal Gravity Wave Saturation....Pages 373-397
A Theory of Enhanced Saturation of the Gravity Wave Spectrum Due to Increases in Atmospheric Stability....Pages 399-420
The Effect of Horizontal Resolution on Gravity Waves Simulated by the GFDL “SKYHI” General Circulation Model....Pages 421-443
Laboratory Observations of Gravity Wave Critical-Layer Flows....Pages 445-461
Wind Fluctuations near a Cold Vortex-Tropopause Funnel System Observed by the MU Radar....Pages 463-479
Internal Gravity Wave Selection in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere Observed by the MU Radar: Preliminary Results....Pages 481-495
High Time Resolution Monitoring of Tropospheric Temperature with a Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS)....Pages 497-507
Falling Sphere Observations of Anisotropic Gravity Wave Motions in the Upper Stratosphere over Australia....Pages 509-532
Constraints on Gravity Wave Induced Diffusion in the Middle Atmosphere....Pages 533-546
Temperature and Heat Flux Spectra in the Turbulent Buoyancy Subrange....Pages 547-569
Interpretation, Reliability and Accuracies of Parameters Deduced by the Spaced Antenna Method in Middle Atmosphere Applications....Pages 571-604
Full-Correlation Analysis of Turbulent Scattering Layers in the Mesosphere Observed by the MU Radar....Pages 605-616
Back Matter....Pages 617-618

✦ Subjects

Science, general