Contribution of gravity waves to universal vertical wavenumber
(~m^(-3)) spectra revealed by a
gravity-wave-permitting general circulation model
Abstract
Observations with high vertical resolution have revealed that power
spectra of horizontal wind and temperature fluctuations versus vertical
wavenumber m have a universal shape with a steep slope in a high m
range, approximately proportional to m^(-3). Several theoretical
models explaining this spectral slope were proposed under an assumption
of gravity wave (GW) saturation. However, little evidence has been
obtained to show that these universal spectra are fully composed of GWs.
To confirm the validity of this assumption, two kinds of m spectra are
calculated using outputs from a GW-permitting high-top general
circulation model. One is the spectra for GWs designated by fluctuations
having total horizontal wavenumbers of 21–639. The other is the spectra
of fluctuations unfiltered except extracting a linear trend in the
vertical that were often analyzed in the observational studies.
Comparison between the two shows that GWs dominate the observed spectra
only in a higher m part of the steep slope, whereas disturbances other
than GWs significantly contribute to its lower m part. Moreover,
geographical distributions of the characteristic wavenumbers, slopes,
and spectral densities of GW spectra are examined for several divided
height regions of the whole middle atmosphere. It is shown that strong
vertical shear below the zonal wind jets as well as the wave saturation
is responsible for the formation of the steep slopes of GW spectra.