On global-scale atmospheric circulations (Q2708436)

This fundamental survey describes the primary mechanisms giving rise to global-scale mean circulations of the middle atmosphere that control some of the dominant characteristics of our climate. The author presents various approaches to a such complex and chaotic system as the Earth atmosphere and oceans, ranging from the fluid dynamics and turbulence theory to modern experiments.NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEThe following section headings reflect in detail the topics covered in the review: 1. Introduction; 2. Some fundamentals, including anti-friction; 3. Wave propagation amd gyroscopic pumping; 4. Wave-induced momentum transport: experiment and theory; 5. Wave breaking, wave filtering arid critical layers; 6. The general definition of wave breaking; 7. The Plumb-McEwan experiment and the refrigeration effect; 8. Historical note: the Michelson-Morley principle; 9. Material invariants and stratification surfaces; 10. Stable stratification and balanced flow; 11. Oscillations about balance: inertia-gravity wave dynamics; 12. Balanced oscillations: PV inversion and Rossby wave dynamics; 13. Rossby waves and anti-friction; 14. The global-mean circulation of the middle atmosphere; 15. The response to gyroscopic pumping; 16. Postlude: the oceans, the troposphere, and climate feedback.NEWLINENEWLINEFor the entire collection see [Zbl 0952.00020].