Mars' Middle Atmosphere Appears Driven By Gravity Waves 16
A new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets reveals that atmospheric gravity waves play a crucial role in driving latitudinal air currents on Mars, particularly at high altitudes. Phys.Org reports: The study applied methods developed to explore Earth's atmosphere to quantitatively estimate the influence of gravity waves on Mars' planetary circulation. [...] "On Earth, large-scale atmospheric waves caused by the planet's rotation, known as Rossby waves, are the primary influence on the way air circulates in the stratosphere, or the lower part of the middle atmosphere. But our study shows that on Mars, gravity waves (GWs) have a dominant effect at the mid and high latitudes of the middle atmosphere," said Professor Kaoru Sato from the Department of Earth and Planetary Science. "Rossby waves are large-scale atmospheric waves, or resolved waves, whereas GWs are unresolved waves, meaning they are too fine to be directly measured or modeled and must be estimated by more indirect means."
Not to be confused with gravitational waves from massive stellar bodies, GWs are an atmospheric phenomenon when a packet of air rises and falls due to variations in buoyancy. That oscillating motion is what gives rise to GWs. Due to the small-scale nature of them and the limitations of observational data, researchers have previously found it challenging to quantify their significance in the Martian atmosphere. So Sato and her team turned to the Ensemble Mars Atmosphere Reanalysis System (EMARS) dataset, produced by a range of space-based observations over many years, to analyze seasonal variations up there.
"We found something interesting, that GWs facilitate the rapid vertical transfer of angular momentum, significantly influencing the meridional, or north-south, in the middle atmosphere circulations on Mars," said graduate student Anzu Asumi. "It's interesting because it more closely resembles the behavior seen in Earth's mesosphere rather than in our stratosphere. This suggests existing Martian atmospheric circulation models may need to be refined to better incorporate these wave effects, potentially improving future climate and weather simulations."
Not to be confused with gravitational waves from massive stellar bodies, GWs are an atmospheric phenomenon when a packet of air rises and falls due to variations in buoyancy. That oscillating motion is what gives rise to GWs. Due to the small-scale nature of them and the limitations of observational data, researchers have previously found it challenging to quantify their significance in the Martian atmosphere. So Sato and her team turned to the Ensemble Mars Atmosphere Reanalysis System (EMARS) dataset, produced by a range of space-based observations over many years, to analyze seasonal variations up there.
"We found something interesting, that GWs facilitate the rapid vertical transfer of angular momentum, significantly influencing the meridional, or north-south, in the middle atmosphere circulations on Mars," said graduate student Anzu Asumi. "It's interesting because it more closely resembles the behavior seen in Earth's mesosphere rather than in our stratosphere. This suggests existing Martian atmospheric circulation models may need to be refined to better incorporate these wave effects, potentially improving future climate and weather simulations."
clickbait (Score:2)
"Not to be confused with gravitational waves from massive stellar bodies, GWs are an atmospheric phenomenon when a packet of air rises and falls due to variations in buoyancy."
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Re:clickbait (Score:4, Insightful)
i.e. Far from trying to lure you in with a confusing headline, the editors do not have the knowledge to know it was confusing.
Thermal? (Score:3)
Re:clickbait (Score:4, Interesting)
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think the confusion stems from the fact that if you google gravity waves- the results are about gravitational waves... i'm still scrolling through the results and have yet to find the correct phenomenon.
Not to mention the amount of articles ON GRAVITATIONAL WAVES using gravity waves.... guess they too subscribe to Cosmo.
Not everyone on slashdot is a climate or astro physics researcher to know the difference... i'll go back to reading my cosmo now... 30 ways to heat things up in the atmosphere - no10 will sh
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Feel free to find a single person* with the judgement to distinguish the difference between gravity waves and gravitational waves?
*A single person who is not trained in the sciences.
Not sure if pretentious cunt, or troll. Apply your own judgement.
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Almost thought this was snake oil, until... (Score:2)
I read, "Not to be confused with gravitational waves from massive stellar bodies, GWs are an atmospheric phenomenon when a packet of air rises and falls due to variations in buoyancy."
So "gravity waves" ... (Score:2)
... are just normal atmospheric processes with a fancy name (buoancy waves probably didn't have the cool sounding cosmoslogy associations). Hot air rises , cold air sinks. This affects how the atmosphere behaves. Wow, who knew? They cause high and low pressure areas on Earth which creates our weather.
Re: So "gravity waves" ... (Score:2)
If things are just as simple as "hot air rises, cold air sinks", how come Cliff Mass, UW meteorology professor, tells us (see his blog) that wind rushing down mountain sides gets hotter as it sinks?
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As it sinks it gets compressed and heats up and at some point will stop sinking. Ditto the other way around. Its not complicated.
Re: So "gravity waves" ... (Score:2)
Why is the point where it starts rising below the colder, denser air at the bottom of the slopes?
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It doesn't. Then you get an inversion layer.
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Buoyancy is an emerging property of gravitational effects. Without gravity, buoyancy does not exist.