The relation of gravity waves and turbulence in the mesosphere

Since researchers couldn't prove that the mesospheric turbulence layers are generated by the simultaneously existing short-period gravity waves, they invoked other generation mechanisms than wave breaking. Possible mechanisms like lateral convection (Rottger 1980a), quasi-geostrophic flows at mesoscales (Lilly, 1983) or vortical modes of motion as seen in the ocean (Muller and Pujalet, 1984) could be candidates. Researchers are inclined to see a connection of these layers or laminae with very-long-period internal waves because of the periodicity in their vertical structure and their long mean persistency. Rottger (1980b) had proposed that such structures are due the modulation of the me an temperature and wind profiles by internal waves. The superposition of random or short-term wave-induced wind and temperature fluctuations with the background profile, modulated by very-long-period waves (quasi-inertia waves) then would yield the observed effects, and could explain the vertical periodicity, the long-term mean persistency as well as some short-term variability of their intensity.