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Momentum flux estimates accompanying multiscale gravity waves over Mount Cook, New Zealand, on 13 July 2014 during the DEEPWAVE campaign
Author(s) -
Bossert Katrina,
Fritts David C.,
Pautet PierreDominique,
Williams Bifford P.,
Taylor Michael J.,
Kaifler Bernd,
Dörnbrack Andreas,
Reid Iain M.,
Murphy Damian J.,
Spargo Andrew J.,
MacKin Andrew D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1002/2015jd023197
Subject(s) - amplitude , gravitational wave , gravity wave , momentum (technical analysis) , flux (metallurgy) , scale (ratio) , physics , geodesy , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , wavelength , mesosphere , geology , range (aeronautics) , stratosphere , astrophysics , aerospace engineering , optics , quantum mechanics , economics , materials science , engineering , finance , metallurgy
Observations performed with a Rayleigh lidar and an Advanced Mesosphere Temperature Mapper aboard the National Science Foundation/National Center for Atmospheric Research Gulfstream V research aircraft on 13 July 2014 during the Deep Propagating Gravity Wave Experiment (DEEPWAVE) measurement program revealed a large‐amplitude, multiscale gravity wave (GW) environment extending from ~20 to 90 km on flight tracks over Mount Cook, New Zealand. Data from four successive flight tracks are employed here to assess the characteristics and variability of the larger‐ and smaller‐scale GWs, including their spatial scales, amplitudes, phase speeds, and momentum fluxes. On each flight, a large‐scale mountain wave (MW) having a horizontal wavelength ~200–300 km was observed. Smaller‐scale GWs over the island appeared to correlate within the warmer phase of this large‐scale MW. This analysis reveals that momentum fluxes accompanying small‐scale MWs and propagating GWs significantly exceed those of the large‐scale MW and the mean values typical for these altitudes, with maxima for the various small‐scale events in the range ~20–105 m 2 s −2 .