Abstract—
By using a nonstationary numerical thermohydrodynamic model of atmospheric tides genesis and evolution in the Earth’s atmosphere, it is shown that the Moon can initiate the growing unstable nonstationary disturbances of meteorological parameters in the troposphere. It is shown that the genesis of disturbances is initiated by lunar atmospheric tides, atmospheric compressibility is the main factor of genesis, and a vertical background wind shear (baroclinic instability) is a complementary factor. The spatial and time scales of unstable disturbances initiated by atmospheric lunar tides vary within the following ranges: the characteristic build-up time from 50 to 200 h and the quasi-period of unstable disturbances from 7 to 30 days. Based on an analysis of the results of numerical experiments, it is concluded that the global unstable nonstationary disturbances initiated by the Moon may generate weather cycles in the mid- and high-latitude troposphere of both Earth’s hemispheres lasting 1 to 4 weeks. The initial phase of genesis of these cycles is closely related to the continuously varying position of the gravitational tide-generating source on the celestial sphere, i.e., the lunar phase. The conclusion presents arguments for a similar effect of planets in the Solar System on the Earth’s weather through gravitational tides and instability of the Earth’s atmosphere.
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Translated by L. Mukhortova
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Gavrilov, A.A. The Moon is the Source of Unstable Nonstationary Disturbances in the Earth’s Atmosphere. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 57, 703–711 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433821070069
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433821070069