An atmospheric wave is a periodic disturbance in the fields of atmospheric variables (like surface pressure or geopotential height, temperature, or wind velocity) which may either propagate (traveling wave) or not (stationary wave). Atmospheric waves range in spatial and temporal scale from large-scale planetary waves (Rossby waves) to minute sound waves. Atmosphere may refer to: a celestial body atmosphere, e. ... Surface pressure is the atmospheric pressure at a point of Earths surface. ... In the geosciences, geopotential height is a measure of geometric height that accounts for the dependence of gravity on latitude and height. ... Temperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of hot and cold; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. ... The word space has many meanings, including: Physics The definition of space in physics is contentious. ... For alternate uses of time, see Time (disambiguation) or see TIME (magazine). ... Rossby (or planetary) waves are large-scale motions in the ocean or atmosphere whose restoring force is the variation in Coriolis effect with latitude. ... This article is about compression waves. ...

Causes and effects

The mechanism for the forcing of the wave, i.e. the generation of the initial or prolonged disturbance in the atmospheric variables, can vary. Generally, waves are either excited by heating or dynamic effects, for example the obstruction of the flow by mountain ranges like the Rocky Mountains in the US or the Alps in Europe. Heating effects can be small-scale (like the generation of gravity waves by convection) or large-scale (the formation of Rossby waves by the temperature contrasts between continents and oceans in the Northern hemisphere winter). HVAC may also stand for High-voltage alternating current HVAC is an initialism that stands for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning. This is sometimes referred to as climate control. ... The word dynamics can refer to: a branch of mechanics; see dynamics (mechanics) the volume of music; see dynamics (music) When used referring to mechanics, it is referring to the study of the motion of both rigid bodies and particles. ... Rocky Mountain National Park (photo courtesy of NPS) View of Colorado Rockies. ... US,Us or us may stand for the United States of America us, the oblique case form of the English language pronoun we. ... The Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria in the east, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany, through to France in the west. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... In fluid dynamics, gravity waves are those generated in a fluid medium or on an interface (e. ... Convection is the transfer of heat by the motion of or within a fluid. ... Rossby (or planetary) waves are large-scale motions in the ocean or atmosphere whose restoring force is the variation in Coriolis effect with latitude. ... The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is north of the equator. ...

Atmospheric waves transport momentum, which is fed back into the background flow as the wave dissipates. This wave forcing of the flow is particularly important in the stratosphere, where this momentum deposition by gravity waves gives rise to sudden stratospheric warmings and the quasi-biennial oscillation. In physics, momentum is a physical quantity related to the velocity and mass of an object. ... The Stratosphere is also a major hotel and casino resort in Las Vegas. ... The QBO (quasi-biennial oscillation) is a quasi-periodic oscillation of the equatorial zonal wind between easterlies and westerlies in the tropical stratosphere with a mean period of 28 months. ...

In the mathematical description of atmospheric waves, the spherical eigenfunctions are used. When considering a section of a wave along a latitude circle, this is equivalent to a sinusoidal shape. Latitude, denoted φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ... In mathematics, the trigonometric functions are functions of an angle, important when studying triangles and modeling periodic phenomena. ...

Types of waves

Because the propagation of the wave is fundamentally caused by an imbalance of the forces acting on the air (which is often thought of in terms of air parcels when considering wave motion), the types of waves and their propagation characteristics vary latitudinally, principally because the Coriolis effect on horizontal flow is maximal at the poles and zero at the equator. In physics, a net force acting on a body causes that body to accelerate; that is, to change its velocity. ... An air parcel is an imaginary chunk of air in the atmosphere. ... In physics, the Coriolis effect or Coriolis force is a manifestation of inertia first described in full by Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis, a French scientist, in 1835. ... In geography, the equator is an imaginary line drawn around a planet, halfway between the poles, where the surface of the roughly spherical planet is parallel to the axis of rotation. ...

The different wave types are:

• sound waves (usually eliminated from the atmospheric equations of motion due to their high frequency)
• internal gravity waves (require stable stratification of the atmosphere — not to be confused with the kind of gravity waves postulated by General Relativity)
• inertio-gravity waves (also include a significant Coriolis effect as opposed to "normal" gravity waves)
• Rossby waves (can be seen in the troughs and ridges of 500 hPa geopotential caused by midlatitude cyclones and anticyclones)

At the equator, mixed Rossby-gravity and Kelvin waves can also be observed. This article is about compression waves. ... In advanced physics, equations of motion usually refer to the Euler-Lagrange equations, differential equations derived from the Lagrangian. ... In fluid dynamics, gravity waves are those generated in a fluid medium or on an interface (e. ... Stratification is the building up of layers of deposits, and can have several variations of meaning: Social stratification, is the dividing of a society into levels based on wealth or power. ... Two-dimensional visualisation of space-time distortion. ... Rossby (or planetary) waves are large-scale motions in the ocean or atmosphere whose restoring force is the variation in Coriolis effect with latitude. ... Variation in the physical appearance of humans is believed by anthropologists to be an important factor in the development of personality and social relations in particular physical attractiveness. ... In meteorology, a cyclone is the rotation of a volume of air about an area of low atmospheric pressure. ... In meteorology, an anticyclone is a weather phenomenon associated with atmospheric high pressure. ... A Kelvin wave is a wave in the ocean or atmosphere that balances the Earths Coriolis force against a topographic boundary such as a coastline. ...

Further reading

• Holton, James R.: An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, 2004. ISBN 0123540151