Transition from geostrophic turbulence to inertia–gravity waves in the atmospheric energy spectrum

Source abstract

Significance High- and low-pressure systems, commonly referred to as synoptic systems, are the most energetic fluctuations of wind and temperature in the midlatitude troposphere. Synoptic systems are a few thousand kilometers in scale and are governed by a balance between the pressure gradient force and the Coriolis force. Observations collected near the tropopause by commercial aircraft indicate a change in dynamics at horizontal scales smaller than about 500 km. Smaller-scale fluctuations are shown to be dominated by inertia–gravity waves, waves that propagate on vertical density gradients but are influenced by Earth’s rotation.