Mesoscale Variability of the Atmosphere

Statistical measures of atmospheric variability are reviewed as they apply to the mesoscales. Horizontal spectra of kinetic energy are found to conform approximately to a −5/3 power law from a few to about 1000 km wavelengths, while the vertical spectra follow a slope of about −2.5. As measured by structure functions, humidity variables have unusually high variability in the mesoscale. Two competitive explanations for mesoscale spectra are discussed, one based on two-dimensional turbulence concepts and the other on the theory of internal gravity waves.

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