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    Exceptionally strong summer-like zonal wind reversal in the upper mesosphere during winter 2015/16
    (Katlenburg, Lindau : Copernicus, 2017-6-12) Stober, Gunter; Matthias, Vivien; Jacobi, Christoph; Wilhelm, Sven; Höffner, Josef; Chau, Jorge L.
    The 2015/16 Northern Hemisphere winter season was marked by peculiarities in the circulation pattern in the high-latitude mesopause region. Wind measurements from the Andenes (69° N, 13° E) meteor radar show westward winds below 84 km and eastward winds above. This wind pattern in the zonal wind was observable between the end of December 2015 and the end of January 2016, i.e., conditions that are typical for the summer were found during winter. Additional meteor radar measurements at midlatitude stations did not show such a zonal wind reversal but indicate, together with the polar latitude stations, a reversal of the horizontal temperature gradient. This is confirmed by global satellite measurements. Therefore, it is plausible that the polar latitude summer-like zonal wind reversal in December–January is in accordance with the reversed horizontal temperature gradient assuming a thermal wind balance between mid- and polar latitudes. The reversed horizontal temperature gradient itself is induced by stationary planetary waves at lower and midlatitudes in the mesosphere, leading to a weakening of the residual circulation above the European sector.
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    Mesospheric Q2DW Interactions With Four Migrating Tides at 53°N Latitude: Zonal Wavenumber Identification Through Dual‐Station Approaches
    (Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2021) He, Maosheng; Forbes, Jeffrey M.; Li, Guozhu; Jacobi, Christoph; Hoffmann, Peter
    Mesospheric winds from two longitudinal sectors at 53°N latitude are combined to investigate quasi-two-day waves (Q2DWs) and their nonlinear interactions with tides. In a summer 2019 case study, we diagnose the zonal wavenumber m of spectral peaks at expected frequencies through two dual-station approaches, a phase differencing technique (PDT) on individual spectral peaks and a least squares procedure on family batched peaks. Consistent results from the approaches verify the occurrences of Rossby-gravity modes (m = 3 and 4 at periods T = 2.1 and 1.7 days), and their secondary waves (SWs) generated from interactions with diurnal, semi-diurnal, ter-diurnal, and quatra-diurnal migrating tides. We further extend the PDT to 2012–2019, illustrating that Q2DWs exhibit significant interannual variability. Composite analysis reveals seasonal and altitude variations of the Rossby-gravity modes and their SWs. The Rossby-gravity modes maximize in local summer, whereas their 16- and 9.6-h SWs appear more in winter.
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    Derivation of gravity wave intrinsic parameters and vertical wavelength using a single scanning OH(3-1) airglow spectrometer
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : Copernicus, 2018-5-18) Wüst, Sabine; Offenwanger, Thomas; Schmidt, Carsten; Bittner, Michael; Jacobi, Christoph; Stober, Gunter; Yee, Jeng-Hwa; Mlynczak, Martin G.; Russell III, James M.
    For the first time, we present an approach to derive zonal, meridional, and vertical wavelengths as well as periods of gravity waves based on only one OH* spectrometer, addressing one vibrational-rotational transition. Knowledge of these parameters is a precondition for the calculation of further information, such as the wave group velocity vector. OH(3-1) spectrometer measurements allow the analysis of gravity wave ground-based periods but spatial information cannot necessarily be deduced. We use a scanning spectrometer and harmonic analysis to derive horizontal wavelengths at the mesopause altitude above Oberpfaffenhofen (48.09∘ N, 11.28∘ E), Germany for 22 nights in 2015. Based on the approximation of the dispersion relation for gravity waves of low and medium frequencies and additional horizontal wind information, we calculate vertical wavelengths. The mesopause wind measurements nearest to Oberpfaffenhofen are conducted at Collm (51.30∘ N, 13.02∘ E), Germany, ca. 380 km northeast of Oberpfaffenhofen, by a meteor radar. In order to compare our results, vertical temperature profiles of TIMED-SABER (thermosphere ionosphere mesosphere energetics dynamics, sounding of the atmosphere using broadband emission radiometry) overpasses are analysed with respect to the dominating vertical wavelength.