A Brief Overview of Gravity Wave Retrieval Techniques From Observations

Abstract

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Atmospheric gravity waves (GWs) are important in driving the middle and upper atmosphere dynamics on Earth. Here, we provide a brief review of the most common techniques of retrieving gravity wave activity from observations. Retrieval of gravity wave activity from observations is a multi-step process. First, the background fields have to be removed as the retrieval of the wave activity highly depends on this. Second, since a broad spectrum of internal waves contributes to atmospheric fluctuations, the contribution of GWs has to be extracted carefully. We briefly discuss the strengths, limitations/barriers, and applications of each technique. We also outline some future research questions to improve the treatment of these wave extraction methods.

Keywords

• inertia gravity waves
• background removal techniques
• gravity wave spectral analysis technique
• earth GWs analysis
• mars GW analysis