Abstract
The linearized model of Holton is used to compute the stratospheric response to forcing in the form Of a white noise frequency distribution of diabatic heating the equatorial troposphere. It is found that the atmosphere acts as a bandpass filter so that for any zonal wavenumber there is a significant Kelvin wave response in the lower stratosphere only for a limited range of frequencies. It is concluded that a 10–20 day spectral peak in tropospheric forcing is not required to account for the observed spectral distribution of stratospheric Kelvin waves.
