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- ItemOzone–gravity wave interaction in the upper stratosphere/lower mesosphere(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2022) Gabriel, AxelThe increase in amplitudes of upward propagating gravity waves (GWs) with height due to decreasing density is usually described by exponential growth. Recent measurements show some evidence that the upper stratospheric/lower mesospheric gravity wave potential energy density (GWPED) increases more strongly during the daytime than during the nighttime. This paper suggests that ozone-gravity wave interaction can principally produce such a phenomenon. The coupling between ozone-photochemistry and temperature is particularly strong in the upper stratosphere where the time-mean ozone mixing ratio decreases with height. Therefore, an initial ascent (or descent) of an air parcel must lead to an increase (or decrease) in ozone and in the heating rate compared to the environment, and, hence, to an amplification of the initial wave perturbation. Standard solutions of upward propagating GWs with linear ozone-temperature coupling are formulated, suggesting amplitude amplifications at a specific level during daytime of 5ĝ€¯% to 15ĝ€¯% for low-frequency GWs (periods ≥4ĝ€¯h), as a function of the intrinsic frequency which decreases if ozone-temperature coupling is included. Subsequently, the cumulative amplification during the upward level-by-level propagation leads to much stronger GW amplitudes at upper mesospheric altitudes, i.e., for single low-frequency GWs, up to a factor of 1.5 to 3 in the temperature perturbations and 3 to 9 in the GWPED increasing from summer low to polar latitudes. Consequently, the mean GWPED of a representative range of mesoscale GWs (horizontal wavelengths between 200 and 1100ĝ€¯km, vertical wavelengths between 3 and 9ĝ€¯km) is stronger by a factor of 1.7 to 3.4 (2 to 50ĝ€¯Jĝ€¯kg-1, or 2ĝ€¯% to 50ĝ€¯% in relation to the observed order of 100ĝ€¯Jĝ€¯kg-1, assuming initial GW perturbations of 1 to 2ĝ€¯K in the middle stratosphere). Conclusively, the identified process might be an important component in the middle atmospheric circulation, which has not been considered up to now.
- ItemLong-term studies of mesosphere and lower-thermosphere summer length definitions based on mean zonal wind features observed for more than one solar cycle at middle and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere(Katlenburg, Lindau : Copernicus, 2022) Jaen, Juliana; Renkwitz, Toralf; Chau, Jorge L.; He, Maosheng; Hoffmann, Peter; Yamazaki, Yosuke; Jacobi, Christoph; Tsutsumi, Masaki; Matthias, Vivien; Hall, ChrisSpecular meteor radars (SMRs) and partial reflection radars (PRRs) have been observing mesospheric winds for more than a solar cycle over Germany (g1/4g54g gN) and northern Norway (g1/4g69g gN). This work investigates the mesospheric mean zonal wind and the zonal mean geostrophic zonal wind from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) over these two regions between 2004 and 2020. Our study focuses on the summer when strong planetary waves are absent and the stratospheric and tropospheric conditions are relatively stable. We establish two definitions of the summer length according to the zonal wind reversals: (1) the mesosphere and lower-thermosphere summer length (MLT-SL) using SMR and PRR winds and (2) the mesosphere summer length (M-SL) using the PRR and MLS. Under both definitions, the summer begins around April and ends around middle September. The largest year-to-year variability is found in the summer beginning in both definitions, particularly at high latitudes, possibly due to the influence of the polar vortex. At high latitudes, the year 2004 has a longer summer length compared to the mean value for MLT-SL as well as 2012 for both definitions. The M-SL exhibits an increasing trend over the years, while MLT-SL does not have a well-defined trend. We explore a possible influence of solar activity as well as large-scale atmospheric influences (e.g., quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), major sudden stratospheric warming events). We complement our work with an extended time series of 31 years at middle latitudes using only PRR winds. In this case, the summer length shows a breakpoint, suggesting a non-uniform trend, and periods similar to those known for ENSO and QBO.
- ItemHigh-Order Solar Migrating Tides Quench at SSW Onsets(Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2020) He, Maosheng; Forbes, Jeffrey M.; Chau, Jorge L.; Li, Guozhu; Wan, Weixing; Korotyshkin, Dmitry V.Sudden stratospheric warming events (SSWs) are the most spectacular atmospheric vertical coupling processes, well-known for being associated with diverse wave activities in the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. The first four solar tidal harmonics have been reported as being engaged. Here, combining mesospheric winds detected by three midlatitude radars, we demonstrate at least the first six harmonics that occurred during SSW 2018. Wave number diagnosis demonstrates that all six harmonics are dominated by migrating components. Wavelet analyses reveal that the fourth, fifth, and sixth harmonics quench after the SSW onset. The six harmonics and the quenching appear also in a statistical analysis based on near-12-year observations from one of the radars. We attribute the quenching to reversal of the background eastward wind. ©2020. The Authors.
- ItemZonalWave Number Diagnosis of RossbyWave-Like Oscillations Using Paired Ground-Based Radars(Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2020) He, Maosheng; Yamazaki, Yosuke; Hoffmann, Peter; Hall, Chris M.; Tsutsumi, Masaki; Li, Guozhu; Chau, Jorge LuisFree traveling Rossby wave normal modes (RNMs) are often investigated through large-scale space-time spectral analyses, which therefore is subject to observational availability, especially in the mesosphere. Ground-based mesospheric observations were broadly used to identify RNMs mostly according to the periods of RNMs without resolving their horizontal scales. The current study diagnoses zonal wave numbers of RNM-like oscillations occurring in mesospheric winds observed by two meteor radars at about 79°N. We explore four winters comprising the major stratospheric sudden warming events (SSWs) 2009, 2010, and 2013. Diagnosed are predominant oscillations at the periods of 10 and 16 days lasting mostly for three to five whole cycles. All dominant oscillations are associated with westward zonal wave number m=1, excepting one 16-day oscillation associated with m=2. We discuss the m=1 oscillations as transient RNMs and the m=2 oscillation as a secondary wave of nonlinear interaction between an RNM and a stationary Rossby wave. All the oscillations occur around onsets of the three SSWs, suggesting associations between RNMs and SSWs. For comparison, we also explore the wind collected by a similar network at 54°N during 2012–2016. Explored is a manifestation of 5-day wave, namely, an oscillation at 5–7 days with m=1), around the onset of SSW 2013, supporting the associations between RNMs and SSWs. ©2020. The Authors.