Shock Wave Dynamics and Its Effects on Planetary Atmospheres

Dear Colleagues,

Shock waves result from a sudden energy release and propagate rapidly though the medium at velocities initially much higher than the local speed of sound. While the concept of shock wave generation and propagation in an atmospheric gas has been investigated for a long time in the context of military applications (e.g., chemical and nuclear explosions), the shockwave phenomena resulting from other sources have received somewhat less scientific attention. The study of shock waves and their effect on planetary atmospheres is of great relevance to many disciplines in the scientific community, such as atmospheric physics, space exploration, and planetary defence. For example, the shock waves generated by large meteoroids could have profound effects on not only the surrounding atmosphere, but also on the surface. In addition to studying shock waves in the Earth’s atmosphere, there is great interest in shock wave phenomena in other atmosphere-bearing worlds, such as Mars, Venus and Titan, especially in the context of future space missions. An additional utility is the meteoroid impact threat assessment for future colonies on Mars.   

This Special Issue is focused on shock waves and their effects on planetary atmospheres, including shock wave generation, propagation and attenuation, as well as source localization and characterization. Observational, experimental and theoretical studies are welcome.

We invite researchers to contribute original research articles as well as review articles on the topic of shock wave phenomena in planetary atmospheres including but not limited to the following subtopics:

• Generation, propagation, and attenuation of shock waves resulting from natural and anthropogenic sources (e.g., meteoroids, lightning, solar storms and re-entry vehicles)
• Propagation and attenuation of weak shock (i.e., infrasound)
• The effects of ducting and atmospheric stratification, and wind on the propagation and attenuation of shock
• Source detection (direct and indirect methods), localization and characterization
• Physico-chemical effects on the local atmosphere
• Shock waves in extra-terrestrial atmospheres (e.g., Mars, Venus, Titan, Jupiter)

Dr. Elizabeth A. Silber
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Shock wave
• Propagation
• Attenuation
• Continuum flow
• Rarefied flow