Acoustic-Gravity Wave Propagation from Nuclear Explosions in the Earth's Atmosphere

Abstract

In order to account for certain characteristic features of the atmospheric pressure oscillations produced by nuclear explosions, a numerical matrix method is used to solve the equations governing the horizontal propagation of acoustic-gravity waves in a stratified atmosphere. Solutions for various three- and four-layer models are found to be in qualitative agreement with the observations. In particular, they show normal dispersion (group velocity increasing with period) in the range of periods from 1 to 10 min and inverse dispersion (group velocity decreasing with period) at both shorter periods and, for some models, also at periods of the order of 5 to 15 min.