A Preliminary Study of the Transient Response of the Atmosphere Produced by Mid-Tropospheric Heating

Abstract

A simple linear model is developed to study the transient response of the atmosphere, a system of internal gravity waves, due to mid-tropospheric heating. The effects of varying stability, mean wind, the horizontal and the vertical distribution of the heating, and the rate at which heat is added are presented. It was found that under certain conditions specifically related to the vertical thickness of the heated layer and the stability of the air, the vertical velocities in the upper and lower atmosphere attain magnitudes in excess of 3 m sec?1. The magnitude of the vertical velocities will increase further if the rate at which heat is added is increased. Decreasing the horizontal dimensions of the region where heat is added does not change the magnitude of the vertical velocities appreciably except for the gravity wave with the largest vertical wavelength; however, the horizontal scale of the gravity wave system is smaller, and wave speeds are less since they are proportional to horizontal wavelength.