1974/01/01 by Stephen B. Fels, Richard S. Lindzen · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements
paper · doi:10.1080/03091927409365793
openalex publication_date 1974/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
It is shown that the thermal excitation of internal gravity waves in a semi‐infinite atmosphere will lead to mean accelerations of the fluid within the region of excitation. While accelerations both in the direction of and opposite to the wave's phase speed are produced, the mean density weighted acceleration is opposite to the phase speed's direction. The mechanism involved is studied for a wide variety of cases, and explicitly applied to the examination of the mean flows resulting from thermal tides on Venus and the Earth. The procedure for studying the nonlinear evolution of flows is developed for cases with and without damping, and the results are applied to a discussion of the evolution of the observed 4‐day circulation on Venus.