A simulation study of the convective instability and subsequent generation of Acoustic-gravity waves in the troposphere to MLT region

Abstract:

The convective instability (CI) is excited in the troposphere in the presence of negative temperature gradient. The rising bubbles generated by the instability act like pressure disturbances at the top of the troposphere and subsequently excite the acoustic-gravity waves (AGWs) in the atmosphere. These AGWs propagate radially outward towards overlying MLT region while their amplitude increases exponentially with increasing altitude. In the MLT region, these waves encounter thermal and density ducts, leading to the dissipation of these waves and subsequent generation of secondary AGWs.

In this work, we present the simulation study of coupled convective instability - AGWs dynamics in the atmosphere covering troposphere to MLT region. We derive the governing hydrodynamics equations for the CI and AGWs that include the non-adiabatic dynamics of CI in the troposphere and compressible and ducting dynamics of AGWs above troposphere. These equations are solved using Finite-Time-Centered-Space difference method complemented by the Crank-Nicolson implicit scheme for the integration and Gradient-Conjugate method to solve the matrix equation. The simulation domain consists of altitude-longitude-latitude covering the tropical Brazilian region. The novel features of the present study are as follows: (1) Owing to the non-adiabatic dynamics, the CI in the troposphere grows for the adiabatically stable temperature profile (2) The growth remains linear and excite the bubbles reaching up to the base of the tropopause (~10 km altitude), (3) Thereafter, AGWs are excited attaining large amplitude in the MLT region, (4) In the MLT region, these large amplitude waves become ducted and as a result, the AGWs with short period equals to the Brunt-Vaisala period of MLT region, are amplified, (5) These ducting dynamics excite the atmospheric disturbances consist of ripples and bands, respectively associated with the short and long period AGWs.