Trapped Gravity Waves Research Articles

High‐Frequency Gravity Waves and Kelvin‐Helmholtz Billows in the Tropical UTLS, as Seen From Radar Observations of Vertical Wind

AbstractThe present study analyzes novel observations of vertical wind in the tropical upper troposphere‐lower stratosphere obtained from a radar wind profiler in Cochin, India. Between December 2022 and April 2023, 63 consecutive 4 hr curtains of were measured with a vertical spacing of 180 m and a sampling time step of 44 s, thus resolving almost the whole spectrum of vertical motions. Spectra of strongly vary with altitude. They are generally flat up to the local Brunt‐Väisälä frequency (BVF), but sometimes exhibit a peak of variance closer to BVF, a feature which may be attributed to trapped gravity waves. At other times and locations, the profiles reveal Kelvin‐Helmholtz billows. Finally, the variability of variance over the 4 month campaign period is investigated. Using brightness temperature from geostationary satellites as a convective proxy, it is found that variance is highly correlated with fluctuations in convective activity.

Small-scale wind fluctuations within melting layers of winter storms: results from WINTRE-MIX

Abstract Investigations into the melting layer (ML) of winter storms have revealed small-scale fluctuations in the horizontal wind that could significantly affect surface precipitation type and the evolution of the ML. Despite previous evidence of such fluctuations, essential questions remain concerning their characteristics and the forces driving them. Therefore, this study characterizes small-scale horizontal wind fluctuations (<1 km in length with perturbation magnitudes < 3 m s−1) and their environments within the ML of winter storms. This analysis uses data from a scanning X-band Doppler radar collected during the Winter Precipitation Type Research Multi-Scale Experiment (WINTRE-MIX), conducted during February and March 2022. We present three case studies where small-scale horizontal wind fluctuations are identified using along-radial and along-azimuthal radial velocity perturbations. These cases cover the range of environmental conditions observed during WINTRE-MIX, including: i) a descending ML with change in surface p-type from snow to rain, ii) a steady ML with a surface p-type transition from freezing rain to rain due to surface cold air erosion, and iii) a steady ML with a surface p-type transition from freezing rain to ice pellets due to surface cold air advection. Forcing mechanisms for small-scale wind fluctuations during each case are attributed to static instability, vertically trapped gravity waves, and/or shear instability inferred from rawinsonde data, HRRR analysis, and radar data. Our findings suggest that static instability, gravity waves, and shear instability drive the ML’s small-scale wind fluctuations and may influence surface precipitation-type transitions.

Recommendations on setup in simulating atmospheric gravity waves under conventionally neutral boundary layer conditions

Wind farm-induced atmospheric gravity waves have been the subject of recent research as they can impact wind farm performance. Pressure variations associated with gravity waves can contribute to the global blockage effect and wind farm wake recovery. Therefore, accurate numerical simulation of flow fields, where wind-farm-induced gravity waves may be produced, is important. Three main considerations in such simulations are the overall domain size, the use of Rayleigh damping near domain boundaries to dampen gravity waves, and advection damping at the inlet to prevent spurious oscillations. Often these considerations are treated ad hoc rather than systematically. This work aims to test and extend the systematic modelling of internal gravity waves proposed in a preliminary investigation to modelling of both internal and trapped gravity waves. The preliminary study identifies the length scales to set the domain and damping layer sizes and the time scale to configure the Rayleigh damping coefficient but under linearly stratified conditions. Large eddy simulations of flow through a wind farm canopy are performed under conventionally neutral boundary layer (CNBL) conditions to test the validity of proposed setups for CNBL conditions. Background atmospheric parameters, such as Froude number (Fr), inversion height (Hi ), and inversion layer Froude number (Fri ) control most of the atmospheric gravity wave characteristics. We validated for CBNL conditions that the effective wavelengths of the internal gravity waves are the correct length scale to configure the domain size and damping layer thickness. Likewise, the optimum damping coefficient to dampen the internal gravity waves relates to the free atmosphere’s buoyancy frequency or buoyant perturbations’ time scale. We infer that the damping coefficient in the inversion layer may relate to the inversion buoyancy frequency to effectively dampen the trapped gravity waves. Moreover, the advection damping length is linked to the horizontal wavelength of the trapped gravity waves in the inversion layer to prevent spurious waves at the inlet by retaining wave energy accumulation.

Seasonal Modulation of Trapped Gravity Waves and Their Imprints on Trade Wind Clouds

Abstract Shallow convection over the oceans is responsible for the largest uncertainties in climate projections. Idealized simulations have shown decades ago that shallow clouds generate internal gravity waves, which under certain atmospheric background conditions become trapped inside the troposphere and influence the development of clouds. These feedbacks, which occur at horizontal scales of up to several tens of kilometers. are neither resolved nor parameterized in traditional global climate models (GCMs), while the newest generation of GCMs (grid spacings < 5 km) is starting to resolve them. The interactions between the convective boundary layer and trapped waves have almost exclusively been studied in highly idealized frameworks and it remains unclear to what degree this coupling affects the organization of clouds in the real atmosphere or in the new generation of GCMs. Here, the coupling between clouds and trapped waves is examined in 2.5-km simulations that span the entirety of the tropical Atlantic and are initialized and forced with meteorological analyses. The coupling between clouds and trapped waves is sufficiently strong to be detected in these simulations of full complexity. Stronger upper-tropospheric westerly winds are associated with a stronger cloud–wave coupling. In the simulations this results in a highly organized scattered cloud field with cloud spacings of about 19 km, matching the dominant trapped wavelength. Based on the large-scale atmospheric state, wave theory can reliably predict the regions and times where cloud–wave feedbacks become relevant to convective organization. Theory, the simulations, and satellite imagery imply a seasonal cycle in the trapping of gravity waves.

Gravity Wave Excitation during the Coastal Transition of an Extreme Katabatic Flow in Antarctica

Abstract The offshore extent of Antarctic katabatic winds exerts a strong control on the production of sea ice and the formation of polynyas. In this study, we make use of a combination of ground-based remotely sensed and meteorological measurements at Dumont d’Urville (DDU) station, satellite images, and simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting Model to analyze a major katabatic wind event in Adélie Land. Once well developed over the slope of the ice sheet, the katabatic flow experiences an abrupt transition near the coastal edge consisting of a sharp increase in the boundary layer depth, a sudden decrease in wind speed, and a decrease in Froude number from 3.5 to 0.3. This so-called katabatic jump manifests as a turbulent “wall” of blowing snow in which updrafts exceed 5 m s−1. The wall reaches heights of 1000 m and its horizontal extent along the coast is more than 400 km. By destabilizing the boundary layer downstream, the jump favors the trapping of a gravity wave train—with a horizontal wavelength of 10.5 km—that develops in a few hours. The trapped gravity waves exert a drag that considerably slows down the low-level outflow. Moreover, atmospheric rotors form below the first wave crests. The wind speed record measured at DDU in 2017 (58.5 m s−1) is due to the vertical advection of momentum by a rotor. A statistical analysis of observations at DDU reveals that katabatic jumps and low-level trapped gravity waves occur frequently over coastal Adélie Land. It emphasizes the important role of such phenomena in the coastal Antarctic dynamics.

Trapped Gravity Waves and Their Association with Turbulence in a Large Thunderstorm Anvil during PECAN

Abstract Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-14 (GOES-14) 1-km visible satellite data with 1-min frequency revealed horizontally propagating internal gravity waves emanating from tropopause-penetrating deep convection on 3–4 June 2015 during the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) field experiment. These waves had horizontal wavelengths of ~6–8 km and approximate ground-relative phase speeds of 35 m s−1. PECAN radiosonde data are used to document the environment supporting the horizontally propagating gravity waves within the 200-km-long downstream thunderstorm anvil. Comparisons among soundings within the anvil core, at the downstream anvil edge, and outside of the anvil, together with supporting high-resolution numerical simulations, establish the importance of the storm-induced upper-tropospheric/lower-stratospheric (UTLS) outflow in providing conditions allowing vertical trapping of internal gravity waves over large horizontal distances within the mesoscale anvil. Turbulence was reported by commercial aviation in proximity to the gravity waves near the downstream anvil edge. The simulations suggest that the strongest turbulence was consistent with a mesoscale destabilization of the outer portion of the downstream anvil at elevations immediately below the outflow jet, where differential temperature advection owing to the strong associated vertical shear reduces static stability. The simulated gravity waves are trapped at this elevation and extend for several kilometers below. Local minima of moist gradient Richardson number occur immediately above the simulated warm gravity wave temperature perturbations at anvil base, suggesting a possible role these waves could play in establishing precise locations for the onset of turbulence.

Mesoscale Variability in the Summer Arctic Boundary Layer

Observations from the summer Arctic Ocean Experiment 2001 (AOE-2001) are analysed with a focus on the interactions between mesoscale and boundary-layer dynamics. Wavelet analyses of surface-pressure variations show daylong periods with different characteristics, some featuring episodes of pronounced high-frequency surface-pressure variability, here hypothesized to be caused by trapped gravity waves. These episodes are accompanied by enhanced boundary-layer turbulence and an enhanced spectral gap, but with only minor influence on the surface stress. During these episodes, mesoscale phenomena were often encountered and usually identified as front-like features in the boundary layer, with a peak in drizzle followed by changing temperature. These phenomena resemble synoptic fronts, though they are generally shallow, shorter-lasting, have no signs of frontal clouds, and do not imply a change in air mass. Based on this analysis, we hypothesize that the root cause of the episodes with high-frequency surface-pressure variance are shallow, mesoscale fronts moving across the pack ice. They may be formed due to local-to-regional horizontal contrasts, for example, between air with different lifetimes over the Arctic or with perturbations in the cloud field causing differential cooling of the boundary layer. Thermal contrasts sharpen as the air is transported with the mean flow. The propagating mesoscale fronts excite gravity waves, which affect the boundary-layer turbulence and also seem to favour entrainment of free tropospheric air into the boundary layer.

On the onset of bora and the formation of rotors and jumps near a mountain gap

AbstractThis study investigates the onset phase of a strong Adriatic bora windstorm that occurred on 4 April 2002. The target area is a gap about 20 km wide embedded in the coastal mountain barrier of the Dinaric Alps that favours strong jet‐like winds. Airborne‐aerosol back‐scatter lidar measurements on board the DLR Falcon research aircraft, together with surface and upper‐air observations, are used to verify high‐resolution numerical experiments conducted with the mesoscale atmospheric model RAMS and a single‐layer shallow‐water model (SWM). Especially during the breakthrough phase of the bora, the flow at the gap exit exhibits a complex spatial structure and temporal evolution. On a transect through the centre of the gap, a hydraulic jump forms; this is located close to the coast throughout the night, and starts to propagate downstream in the early morning. On a transect through the edge of the gap, a lee‐wave‐induced rotor becomes established, due to boundary‐layer separation. It starts to propagate downstream about two hours after the jump. This flow evolution implies that the onset of strong winds at the coast occurs several hours earlier downstream of the centre of the gap than downwind of the edge of the gap. Consequently, the wind field in the vicinity of Rijeka airport, located downwind of the gap, is strongly inhomogeneous and transient, and represents a potential hazard to aviation. Measured bora winds at the surface exceed 20 ms−1, and the simulated wind speed in the gap wind layer exceeds 30 ms−1. The simulated turbulent kinetic energy exceeds 10 m2 s−2.RAMS indicates that wave‐breaking near a critical level is the dominant mechanism for the generation of the windstorm. Gap jets can be identified downstream of several mountain passes. The simulated wave pattern above the Dinaric Alps, the wave decay with height due to directional wind shear and the strong flow descent on the leeward side of the barrier are supported by measured back‐scatter intensities. Basic bora flow features, including gap jets and jumps, are remarkably well reproduced by SWM simulations. The RAMS reference run captures observed flow phenomena and the temporal flow evolution qualitatively well. A cold low‐level bias, an overestimated bora inversion strength, and a slightly too‐early bora onset are probably related to insufficient turbulent mixing in the boundary layer. The amplitude of trapped gravity waves, the time of the bora breakthrough and the inversion strength are found to be quite sensitive to the turbulence parametrization. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society

Can trapped gravity waves be relevant for severe foehn windstorms? A case study

This study presents high-resolution numerical simulations of an Alpine south foehn case (14-16 November 2002) during which extremely strong surface winds occurred in several regions of the Alps. The specific focus is on a storm event in the upper Isar Valley in the Bavarian Alps, where gusts estimated to about 45 m s -1 caused substantial damage to buildings and vegetation. For this event, the simulations indicate that the extreme low-level wind speeds were related to a large-amplitude trapped gravity wave, contrasting previous findings that violent surface winds are usually related to vertically propagating gravity waves, especially in the presence of low-level wave breaking, or to shooting hydraulic flow. According to the model results, gravity waves were excited over the mountain ranges adjacent to the valley and propagated towards the valley axis due to their three-dimensional dispersion characteristics. Wave trapping was caused by a deep neutral layer in the upper troposphere. The low-level wind maximum formed beneath the wave trough, reflecting the dynamical structure of trapped waves for which wind and temperature perturbations are in phase. Comparison of the model results with surface wind measurements shows that the simulated flow evolution is consistent with reality except for a minor timing error. A sensitivity test in which the neutral layer was removed exhibits significantly weaker surface winds in the region of interest, suggesting that wave trapping made an important contribution to this windstorm event.

Gravity waves generated by the dry convective boundary layer: Two‐dimensional scale selection and boundary‐layer feedback

AbstractThis study examines the generation of gravity waves by the dry convective boundary layer in two dimensions. In particular, a number of cases are considered which range from zero background‐flow conditions to conditions with strong wind shear. These experiments agree with previous studies that identified a distinct horizontal‐scale selection of the gravity waves due to changes in wind speed. Detailed linear analysis is completed which attributes the horizontal‐scale selection to two processes. The first process is the dissipation of downstream‐propagating gravity waves by critical levels, and the second process is the trapping of upstream‐propagating waves. The result is a narrow region of the generated spectrum of gravity waves that are able to propagate vertically. The experiments also agree with previous studies that have observed a resonant interaction between the boundary‐layer thermals and the gravity waves. This resonance is described as a result of the trapped gravity waves, which form a resonant cavity near the top of the mixed layer. Finally, the experiments are used to evaluate the role of shear in the gravitywave generation. In cases with little resonance, shear is shown to play a minor role in the wave generation. In these cases, changes in the wave's amplitude spectrum are mostly due to linear wave refraction and the aforementioned selection mechanism. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society.

Wind driven general circulation of the Mediterranean Sea simulated with a Spectral Element Ocean Model

Abstract This work is an attempt to simulate the Mediterranean Sea general circulation with a Spectral Finite Element Model. This numerical technique associates the geometrical flexibility of the finite elements for the proper coastline definition with the precision offered by spectral methods. The model is reduced gravity and we study the wind-driven ocean response in order to explain the large scale sub-basin gyres and their variability. The study period goes from January 1987 to December 1993 and two forcing data sets are used. The effect of wind variability in space and time is analyzed and the relationship between wind stress curl and ocean response is stressed. Some of the main permanent structures of the general circulation (Gulf of Lions cyclonic gyre, Rhodes gyre, Gulf of Syrte anticylone) are shown to be induced by permanent wind stress curl structures. The magnitude and spatial variability of the wind is important in determining the appearance or disappearance of some gyres (Tyrrhenian anticyclonic gyre, Balearic anticyclonic gyre, Ionian cyclonic gyre). An EOF analysis of the seasonal variability indicates that the weakening and strengthening of the Levantine basin boundary currents is a major component of the seasonal cycle in the basin. The important discovery is that seasonal and interannual variability peak at the same spatial scales in the ocean response and that the interannual variability includes the change in amplitude and phase of the seasonal cycle in the sub-basin scale gyres and boundary currents. The Coriolis term in the vorticity balance seems to be responsible for the weakening of anticyclonic structures and their total disappearance when they are close to a boundary. The process of adjustment to winds produces a train of coastally trapped gravity waves which travel around the eastern and western basins, respectively in approximately 6 months. This corresponds to a phase velocity for the wave of about 1 m/s, comparable to an average velocity of an internal Kelvin wave in the area.

Observations of Nonclassical Frontal Propagation and Frontally Forced Gravity Waves Adjacent to Steep Topography

Through the integrated analysis of remote sensing and in situ data taken along the Front Range of Colorado, this study describes the interactions that occurred between a leeside arctic front and topographically modulated flows. These interactions resulted in nonclassical frontal behavior and structure across northeastern Colorado. The shallow arctic front initially advanced southwestward toward the Front Range foothills, before retreating eastward. Then, a secondary surge of arctic air migrated westward into the foothills. During its initial southwestward advance, the front exhibited obstacle-like, density-current characteristics. Its initial advance was interrupted by strong downslope northwesterly flow associated with a high-amplitude mountain wave downstream of the Continental Divide, and by a temporal decrease in the density contrast across the front due to diurnal heating in the cold air and weak cold advection in the warm air. The direction and depth of flow within the arctic air also influenced the frontal propagation. The shallow, obstacle-like front actively generated both vertically propagating and vertically trapped gravity waves as it advanced into the downslope northwesterly flow, resulting in midtropospheric lenticular wave clouds aloft that tracked with the front. Because the front entered a region where strong downslope winds and mountain waves extended downstream over the high plains, the wave field in northeastern Colorado included both frontally forced and true mountain-forced gravity waves. A sequence of Scorer parameter profiles calculated from hourly observations reveals a sharp contrast between the prefrontal and postfrontal wave environments. Consequently, analytic resonant wave mode calculations based on the Scorer parameter profiles reveal that the waves supported in the postfrontal regime differed markedly from those supported in the prefrontal environment. This result is consistent with wind profiler observations that showed the amplitude of vertical motions decreasing substantially through 16 km above mean sea level (MSL) after the shallow frontal passage.

Numerical Modeling of Precipitation Cores on Cold Fronts

Abstract A nonhydrostatic, three-dimensional, mesoscale model, including cloud physics, is used to simulate the structure of a narrow cold-frontal rainband (NCFR). The model simulations reproduce the observed “core–gap” structure of the NCFR. Trapped gravity waves, triggered by regions of stronger convection on the cold front, induce subsidence and regions of warming aloft. In these regions, precipitation is suppressed, thereby creating precipitation gaps along the front separated by precipitation cores. The advection of hydrometeors is responsible for the parallel orientation and the elliptical shapes of the precipitation cores. Gravity waves produce pressure perturbations just behind the cold front, which modify the wind and thermal structure. Parts of the front behave locally like a gravity current, traveling at the theoretical gravity current speed in a direction perpendicular to the local orientation of the front, but the motion of the front as a whole is not well described by the gravity current spe...

Multicell Squall-Line Structure as a Manifestation of Vertically Trapped Gravity Waves

Abstract Two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations of a midlatitude squall line with a high-resolution non-hydrostatic model suggest that the multicellular structure of the storm may be associated with gravity waves generated by convection. Time-lapse display of model output demonstrates that the commonly described “cut-off” process is actually a gravity wave phenomenon. The convective cells arise as gravity waves, which are forced by continuous strong low-level convergence at the storm's gust front. The waves propagate to both sides of the gust front. The stronger westward (front to rear) mode dominates at the mature stage of the squall line. Continuous low-level updraft is generated at the nose of the cold pool, which propagates at the speed of a density current. Updraft cells periodically break away from this persistent low-level gust-front updraft and move at phase speeds of their associated gravity waves, not at the surrounding airflow speeds as implied by the traditional multicell model. Lin...

Trapped lee waves: A special analytical solution

A special analytical solution is derived for the classical orographic configuration of two-dimensional, stratified, linear, non-hydrostatic and dry model (without friction and Coriolis force). The well-known differential equation for the vertical velocity involves the vertical distribution of the Scorer parameterl 2(z) and in this casel 2 is specified such that the lower atmosphere has a stable duct near the surface and is capped by a layer which acts as a good reflector. Examination of the solution for the vertical amplitude in the vicinity of singularities indicates the dominant lee wavelength and observations confirm that in comparable settings resonant trapped gravity waves develop in the lee of mountains. Comparison with a real atmospheric lee-wave events gives good predictions for the wavelength and wave drag, but, as in other linear models, the amplitude is underestimated.

On coherent structures in turbulence above and within agricultural plant canopies

The existence of ramp structures in scalar fields such as air temperature has been reported in laboratory flows over smooth and rough walls, in the atmospheric boundary layer and in flows in and above forests. They have been recognized as the signature of coherent turbulent structures. The aim of this paper is to present some observations and analyses of these features in the agricultural environment. Evidence is given from samples of time traces recorded during experiments conducted in maize crops and orchards. Ramps of air temperature, surface temperature, humidity and CO 2 concentrations are shown to occur under stable, neutral and unstable conditions. Ramp structures are more apparent above short canopies than within them, in contrast to taller tree canopies where ramps are seen most clearly near the canopy top. Under stable conditions, they are sometimes found in association with trapped gravity waves. It is demonstrated that the frequency of occurrence of the coherent structures is related to a wind shear scale characteristic of the canopy flow.

Thermally Forced Gravity Waves in an Atmosphere at Rest

Abstract The transient linear response of a quiescent, two-dimensional, nonrotating atmosphere to prescribed heat sources and sinks is investigated. Analytical solutions of the hydrostatic Boussinesq equations are obtained for a rigid lid and for a semi-infinite region. For the rigid lid solution, vertically trapped gravity waves propagate away from the source with a speed that depends on the Brunt–Vaisala frequency and the vertical wavenumber of the heating. The amplitude of the disturbance field in the region of the forcing approaches a constant value. Two modes are of particular interest: 1) a deep fast-moving mode which is responsible for subsidence warming through the depth of the troposphere; 2) a slower moving mode which corresponds to midlevel inflow and lower- and upper-level outflows. A solution is also obtained for a semi-infinite region. Although gravity wave energy can now propagate upward, the structure of the low-level fields still shows many similarities with the rigid lid solution. An ana...

The effect of moist layer location on the stability of trapped gravity waves in an almost saturated atmosphere

The stability characteristics of trapped gravity waves, generated by an isothermal bounded tanh (z) velocity profile in the presence of a saturated finite layer, are studied. The saturated layer is introduced at different levels above the inlection point and the variations of moisture content, layer thickness and distance from the origin are examined. The growthyrates and phase speeds of the unstable modes are obtained by solving numerically the equations of motion in the linear, inviscid, Boussinesq limit, via the technique of Lalas and Einaudi (1976).

The PROUST radar: First results

The stratosphere‐troposphere radar PROUST (prototype de radar pour l'observation en UHF de la stratosphère et troposphère) is located at Saint Santin, France (44°39′N; 2°12′E), a place devoted to the French ionospheric incoherent scatter facility whose frequency is 935 MHz. The use of this equipment as stratosphere‐troposphere radar has required important modifications of the transmitting and receiving systems, which have been planned in several steps. In a first one, the radar works in a bistatic mode with a 600‐m height resolution, allowing measurements in the altitude range 3–10 km. The first results presented here have been obtained with this configuration during two campaigns. In the first one, observations can be interpreted in terms of lee waves; in the second, an intense turbulence activity associated with a high‐altitude temperature inversion is observed. In this last case, the oscillations observed in the vertical wind are consistent with trapped gravity waves generated by a decaying turbulence in a stratified medium. In a second step, now operating, a 30‐m height resolution has been implemented and will allow a better understanding of these phenomena. In its final version, the PROUST radar will operate in a monostatic mode that will permit to extend the observations up to 15 km.

Radio occultation measurements of turbulence in the Venus atmosphere by Pioneer Venus

As in the cases of Mariner 5 and 10 and Venera 9, the Pioneer Venus radio occultation measurements of Venus show an upper region of turbulence located in the vicinity of 60 km. Estimates of the deduced intensity of turbulence are consistent with the upper bound obtained earlier from the complementary Pioneer Venus probe measurements. Comparison with the Pioneer Venus in situ temperature measurements of 1 km scale size also shows very good agreement. It is clear that for scale sizes smaller than the Fresnel size (∼1 km), the refractive index irregularities are represented by a continuum of scale sizes having a spatial wave number spectrum that is power law and close to Kolmogorov. These irregularities are elongated in the horizontal direction (axial ratios are large, ≳10). The fact that the upper region of turbulence coincides with a region of high stability marked by one or more peaks in the stability profile suggests that the turbulence is associated with trapped gravity waves. The amplitude scintillations appear to increase poleward of about 70° which is interpreted as an increase in turbulence level with latitude.