Abstract
Observations of internal gravity waves in the stably-stratified atmospheric boundary layer at Halley, Antarctica are presented. These were made on 1 February, 1986 and take the form of temperature measurements from a 30 m mast and a Sodar record. The temperature record shows a clearly defined, dominant wave period of around 11 min. A high-resolution radiosonde ascent made during the period of wave activity exhibits thin layers of low Richardson number and it is suggested that these are regions of dynamic instability where the waves are generated. A linear stability analysis of the radiosonde data supports this idea. It is argued from simple theoretical ideas and by means of a numerical model that only waves with a wavelength greater than a certain critical value are likely to be observed at the surface. The observations are shown to be consistent with this hypothesis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Darby, M. S.: 1987, ‘A General Method for the Stability Analysis of Stratified Shear Flows’, Quart. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. (submitted).
Darby, M. S. and Mobbs, S. D.: 1986, ‘Observations of Internal Gravity Waves in the Stably-Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer’, in J. S. Puttock (ed.), Proceedings of the IMA Conference on Stably Stratified Flow and Dense Gas Dispersion, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Howard, L. N.: 1961, ‘Note on a Paper of John W. Miles’, J. Fluid Mech. 10, 509–512.
King, J. C.: 1985, ‘Modelling the Development of Large Eddies in the Stable Atmospheric Boundary Layer’, in J. C. R. Hunt (ed.), Turbulence and Diffusion in Stable Environments, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Lalas, D. P. and Einaudi, F.: 1976, ‘On the Characteristics of Gravity Waves Generated by Atmospheric Shear Layers’, J. Atmos. Sci. 33, 1248–1259.
McIntyre, M. E. and Weissman, M. A.: 1978, ‘On Radiating Instabilities and Resonant Overreflection’, J. Atmos. Sci. 35, 1190–1196.
Neff, W. D.: 1980, ‘An Observational and Numerical Study of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Overlaying the East Antarctic Ice Sheet’, Ph. D. thesis, University of Colorado.
Rees, J. M.: 1987, ‘The Influence of Large Eddies on the Stably Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer’, Annales Geophysicae (submitted).
Rees, J. M. and Mobbs, S. D.: 1987, ‘On the Stability of Stratified Flows with Turning’, unpublished.
Schwerdtfeger, W.: 1984, Weather and Climate of the Antarctic, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Scorer, R. S.: 1985, ‘A Vivid Mechanical Picture of Turbulence’, in J. C. R. Hunt (ed.), Turbulence and Diffusion in Stable Environments, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
King, J.C., Mobbs, S.D., Darby, M.S. et al. Observations of an internal gravity wave in the lower troposphere at Halley, Antarctica. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 39, 1–13 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121862
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121862