The atmosphere is full of gravity waves that are generated by winds, storms, and turbulence and that propagate as gravity brings layers of different density into equilibrium. These waves collectively tug on atmospheric jets and transport pollution and tracers in the atmosphere. But gravity waves are too small (102-105 m) to be properly measured with meteorological observation networks and represented in weather and climate models. I will report on some new results attacking this problem using new observations, machine learning, and high-resolution simulations.
Host: Paul Kushner