Gravity waves generated by deep tropical convection: Estimates from balloon observations and mesoscale simulations

Convective gravity waves in the Tropics are studied by analyzing in situ measurements from long‐duration stratospheric balloons launched during the PreConcordiasi campaign (2010) and mesoscale simulations. An improved temporal resolution of the observations as well as the balloon quasi‐Lagrangian behavior allow an unprecedented investigation of the whole gravity wave spectrum. First, a case study of gravity waves generated by a developing cyclone, Tropical Storm Gelane (February 2010), is carried out using observations complemented by numerical simulations with the Weather Research and Forecast model, with a resolution down to 1 km. Distributions of momentum fluxes obtained from both data show reasonable agreement and emphasize waves with short wavelengths (