Invisible Gravity waves rumble through the Atmosphere

Scientists have simulated for the first time, what gravity waves look like as they ripple upward through the atmosphere. Watch the video…

Images courtesy Hanli Liu, NCAR

This visualization was created on the Yellowstone system at the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center using a high-resolution version of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). It shows meridional (north-south) winds at two heights.

Part 1 shows winds at Earth’s surface, where gravity waves usually have only regional impacts. Part 2 shows winds at an elevation of 100 km (about 60 miles), where their influence can become dominant. The video simulations cover a three-day period when a hypothetical tropical cyclone was present off the east coast of Australia.