A Parameterization of Scale-Dependent Radiative Damping Rates in the Middle Atmosphere

Abstract

An analysis of the radiative damping of slowly modulated sinusoidal wave disturbances is presented. It is shown that it is possible to incorporate scale-dependent effects in a manner no more difficult than that used in the usual “Newtonian cooling” approximation. Explicit calculations show that these effects can be very important in the middle atmosphere. Detailed graphs of the scale-dependent relaxation times due to CO₂ and O₃ are given, as well as simple analytical parameterizations.