A comparison of gravity wave energy observed by VHF radar and GPS/MET over central North America

Monthly mean values of the kinetic energy at frequencies associated with gravity waves based on wind observations made with the VHF radar at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, are compared with potential energies determined using GPS/ MET soundings. The monthly mean curves of E k and E p are highly correlated, and both show minimum values in the summer season with summer to winter increases of about a factor of 2. The observed ratio E k /E p agrees very closely with the prediction of a linear gravity wave model. These observations support previous comparisons of E k with E p made using the middle and upper atmosphere radar in Japan.