Atmospheric tide (Physics & Chemistry)
From The Encyclopedia of Earth
Meteorology (main)
Atmospheric tide
March 29, 2010, 12:00 am
October 31, 2011, 8:22 pm
An atmospheric tide is caused by those oscillations in any atmospheric field whose periods are integral fractions of either a lunar or a solar day.
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These differ from ocean tides in several ways, one of which is that atmospheric tides are excited not only by the tidal gravitational potential of the sun and moon but also (and to the larger extent) by daily variations in solar heating. Another difference is that the atmosphereis a spherical shell and thus there are no coastal boundaries to worry about. Finally, the response of the atmosphere to tidal forcing is by means of internal gravity waves rather than the barotropic surface waves of the sea.
Further Reading:
- Physical Oceanography Index
- R. Lindzen. Atmospheric tides. In William H. Reid, editor, Mathematical Problems in the Geosciences: 2. Inverse Problems, Dynamo Theory and Tides, pages 293–362. AMS, 1971.
