Transient dynamics of airflow near a local heat source.

The response of a stratified atmosphere to local heating is a common element in several problems in mesoscale dynamics. To investigate this response, a time-dependent linearized problem is solved analytically for an elevated, local heat source turned on as a pulse in a stratified, moving fluid. An integration of the pulse solution yields the response to steady heating, turned on at t = O. As steady state is approached, this solution exhibits a region of positive displacement moving downstream while negative displacements develop near the stationary heat source. The solution offers an explanation to a curious negative phase relationship between heating and displacement and the lack of a true steady state noted by other authors. - from Authors