A critique of multilayer analyses in application to the propagation of acoustic-gravity waves

Though standard multilayer analyses are popular in the study of acoustic-gravity wave propagation through varying atmospheres, their justification has not been established for all cases treated. The general requirements for such a justification are reviewed here and applied to the case of height-varying background temperature, viscosity, thermal conduction, molecular mass, and gravitational acceleration. Only certain variations are shown to be analyzable by multilayer techniques, and even these variations are shown to have been improperly analyzed in certain earlier studies. Procedures for future analyses are recommended.