In meteorology, a gravity wave is a wavelike disturbance in the atmosphere where gravity acts as the restoring force to bring a displaced air parcel back to its equilibrium (vertical) level.
Gravity waves occur when stable, stratified air is vertically displaced by a trigger, causing the air to oscillate up and down like a weight on a spring.
- The Displacement: Air is pushed upward by a trigger mechanism (such as wind blowing over a mountain, deep thunderstorm updrafts, or weather fronts).
- The Restore: Gravity pulls the dense, cooler rising air back down.
- The Oscillation: The air overshoots, warms, and rises again, propagating the wave forward horizontally and vertically through the atmosphere