Premium
Thermal compression waves. I: Total‐energy transfer
Author(s) -
Nicholls Melville E.,
Pielke Roger A.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.49712051605
Subject(s) - thermal energy , atmosphere (unit) , heat transfer , compression (physics) , energy transfer , mechanics , thermal , energy (signal processing) , compressibility , environmental science , total energy , meteorology , physics , thermodynamics , engineering physics , quantum mechanics , psychology , displacement (psychology) , psychotherapist
Total energy is considered a fundamental quantity that is transferred poleward by the general circulation of the atmosphere. In this study we investigate the mechanism for the upscale transfer of total energy from a localized heat source, such as a thunderstorm. Using a fully compressible numerical model it is shown that thermal compression waves can effectively transfer total energy at the speed of sound. It is suggested that physical interpretations of the energy cycle should take into consideration this mechanism for transferring total energy.