INTERNAL ATMOSPHERIC GRAVITY WAVES AT IONOSPHERIC HEIGHTS

Abstract

IRREGULARITIES AND IRREGULAR MOTIONS IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE WERE DETECTED AND STUDIED, BUT THEIR PROPER INTERPRETATION WAS NOT ESTABLISHED. Many or most of the observational data may be interpreted on the basis of a single physical mechanism, internal atmospheric gravity waves. A comprehensive picture is envisaged for the motions normally encountered, in which a spectrum of waves is generated at low levels of the atmosphere and propagated upwards. The propagational effects of amplification, reflection, inter-modulation, and dissipation act to change the spectrum continuously with increasing height, and so produce different types of dominant modes at different heights. The generation of abnormal waves locally in the ionosphere appears to be possible, and it seems able to account for unusual motions sometimes observed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1960
Accession Number
AD0250769

Entities

People

  • C. O. Hines

Organizations

  • University of Michigan

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Waves
  • Air Force
  • Atmospheric Motion
  • Diffraction
  • Dispersion Relations
  • Electron Density
  • Electrons
  • Energy
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Gravity Waves
  • Ionization
  • Ionosphere
  • Meteorology
  • Radio Waves
  • Scattering
  • Turbulence
  • Wave Propagation

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Systems Analysis and Design