Time and space variability of spectral estimates of atmospheric pressure

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the temporal and spatial behavior of atmospheric pressure spectra. The literature shows many examples of pressure, wind and temperature spectra whose shapes display a remarkable degree of universality. Theories relying either on turbulence or internal waves have been suggested to account for such spectra. While the former accounts for features at the observed synoptic scales and the latter for the local scales, several difficulties remain especially at the intermediate or the so-called mesoscale range.