Reply to comment by Igor Esau on "Do stable atmospheric layers exist?"

Abstract : We would like to thank Esau (2009) for attempting to save the classical notion of stable layers; his argument is very close to one raised up by an anonymous reviewer of Lovejoy et al. (2008b). Since a similar argument is often invoked to justify atmospheric applications of linear gravity wave theories, it appears to be widespread in the community. We therefore hope this debate will clarify the issue.