Nonlinear wave propagation through a stratified atmosphere

We examine the propagation of sound waves through a stratified atmosphere. The method of multiple scales is employed to obtain an asymptotic equation which describes the evolution of sound waves in an atmosphere with spatially dependant density and entropy fields. The evolution equation is an inviscid Burger-like equation which contains quadratic and cubic nonlinearities, and a curvature term all of which are functions of the space variables. A model equation is derived when the modulations of the signal in a direction transverse to the direction of propagation become significant.  2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.