Nonlinear acoustic-gravity waves and dust particle redistribution in earth's atmosphere

Abstract

A continuously stratified model of nonadiabatic terrestrial atmosphere with taking into account the temperature profile is developed to study a possibility of instability development of acoustic-gravity (AG-) waves. It is shown that the existence of the regions in the atmosphere where the instability conditions are satisfied is due to the cooperation of thermal flow of solar radiation, infrared emission of the atmosphere, water vapor condensation, as well as thermal conductivity. Large-amplitude vortices in Earth's troposphere and ionosphere and their possible structure as well as redistribution of dust particles in the ionosphere as a result of vortical motions are discussed. The following possibilities for the dust particle redistribution are studied: capture and evolution of dust particles in AG-vortices, formation of dust vortices as a result of involving a great number of dust particles into vortex motions, and formation of vertical and horizontal dust flows (streamers and zonal flows). It is shown that excitation of AG-vortices at the ionospheric altitudes as a result of development of AG-wave instability leads to a substantial transportation of dust particles and their mixing. Layers of dust particles with a thickness of about a kilometer, forming at the altitudes less than 120km, distribute within the region of the existence of AG-vortical structures. As a result, at altitudes of 110–120km, dust vortices can appear, and transportation of particles up to altitudes of 130km becomes possible. One of the ways of transportation of dust particles in the ionosphere is dust flows, which are generated by dust vortices as a result of development of parametric instability.