Acoustic-gravity waves in the atmosphere: from Zakharov equations to wave-kinetics

We develop a wave-kinetic description of acoustic-gravity (AG) waves in the atmosphere. In our paper the high frequency spectrum of waves is described as a gas of quasi-particles. Starting from the Zakharov-type of equations, where coupling between fast and slow density perturbations is considered, we derive the corresponding wave-kinetic equations, written in terms of an appropriate Wigner function. This provides an alternative description for the nonlinear interaction between the two dispersion branches of the AG waves. (paper)