Vertical flux of energy into the lower ionosphere from internal gravity waves generated in the troposphere

It has been suggested by C.O. Hines that internal atmospheric gravity waves may account for many of the irregularities observed in the lower ionosphere and that these waves may have their origin in the large energy regions of the lower troposphere. The problem of vertical energy flow in the gravity-wave range of the atmospheric spectrum is examined in the present paper. Observational data on tropospheric internal waves are used to compute the energy density spectra and the spectra of vertical energy flux. It is found that a window can exist at periods of about 10 minutes to 2 hours through which fairly large amounts of energy sometimes flow out of the troposphere. Observational data at D-layer and meteor heights are compared with observations of tropospheric internal waves.