Like waves that ripple across a pond’s surface from a tossed pebble, gravity waves ripple toward space from disturbances in the Earth’s lower atmosphere.<\/p>\n
Gravity waves are created when air masses are moved up or down, by disturbances such as a thunderstorm, or when the wind is forced up and over a mountain range. But in the lower atmosphere, their impacts usually remain local.<\/p>\n
By the time they reach the upper atmosphere, however, the waves have built up in amplitude and extent. There, they can rule over atmospheric processes on a much greater scale, sometimes threatening the reliability of Earth-based communication systems.<\/p>\n
Now scientists have found a way, for the first time, to observe the propagation of gravity waves toward space.<\/p>\n
Here’s the trick, according to a team of researchers led by National Center for Atmospheric Research<\/a> Senior Scientist Hanli Liu:<\/p>\n