Abstract
Gravity wave saturation is an important process affecting the transport and deposition of momentum, heat, and constituents in the earth's atmosphere. This paper informally discusses several saturation mechanisms and their effects, including convection, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, vortical mode instability, parametric subharmonic instability, and mean flow interaction. Convective saturation is emphasized. The parameterization of convective adjustment is discussed and a few remarks are made concerning the effects of turbulence localization on the convective saturation process. Several outstanding problems in saturation theory are identified that could be addressed with observational, numerical, and laboratory studies.
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Dunkerton, T.J. Theory of internal gravity wave saturation. PAGEOPH 130, 373–397 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00874465
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00874465