Abstract:
The stability of a layer of moist air above a heated surface of land or ocean is studied under the sudden influence of internal sources of heat release, which depend on the pressure and density. A dispersion equation is obtained for small 3D perturbations in a rotating atmosphere. It contains the previously known waves (acoustic, internal waves, and Brunt–Väisälä waves) and makes it possible to obtain a modified criterion for the onset of convective instability. This dispersion equation also makes it possible to study the effect of internal heat release on the dynamics of perturbation in these waves, including the conditions for the occurrence of instability generated by an atmospheric electric discharge. Taking into account new considered effects can lead to the identification of new instabilities and the modification of the previously known ones. The proposed system of equations allows numerical calculations of vortex flows in moist air in the near-surface layer and a more detailed study of the mechanisms of the beginning of hurricanes and tornadoes.