Mesospheric short‐period gravity waves in the Antarctic Peninsula observed in all‐sky airglow images and their possible source locations

Abstract. A combination of POAM III aerosol extinction and CHAMP RO temperature measurements are used to examine the role of atmospheric gravity waves in the formation of Antarctic Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs). POAM III aerosol extinction observations and quality flag information are used to identify Polar Stratospheric Clouds using an unsupervised clustering algorithm. A PSC proxy, derived by thresholding Met Office temperature analyses with the PSC Type Ia formation temperature (TNAT), shows general agreement with the results of the POAM III analysis. However, in June the POAM III observations of PSC are more abundant than expected from temperature threshold crossings in five out of the eight years examined. In addition, September and October PSC identified using temperature thresholding is often significantly higher than that derived from POAM III; this observation probably being due to dehydration and denitrification. Comparison of the Met Office temperature analyses with corresponding CHAMP observations also suggests a small warm bias in the Met Office data in June. However, this bias cannot fully explain the differences observed. Analysis of CHAMP data indicates that temperature perturbations associated with gravity waves may partially explain the enhanced PSC incidence observed in June (relative to the Met Office analyses). For this month, approximately 40% of the temperature threshold crossings observed using CHAMP RO data are associated with small-scale perturbations. Examination of the distribution of temperatures relative to TNAT shows a large proportion of June data to be close to this threshold, potentially enhancing the importance of gravity wave induced temperature perturbations. Inspection of the longitudinal structure of PSC occurrence in June 2005 also shows that regions of enhancement are geographically associated with the Antarctic Peninsula; a known mountain wave "hotspot". The latitudinal variation of POAM III observations means that we only observe this region in June–July, and thus the true pattern of enhanced PSC production may continue operating into later months. The analysis has shown that early in the Antarctic winter stratospheric background temperatures are close to the TNAT threshold (and PSC formation), and are thus sensitive to temperature perturbations associated with mountain wave activity near the Antarctic peninsula (40% of PSC formation). Later in the season, and at latitudes away from the peninsula, temperature perturbations associated with gravity waves contribute to about 15% of the observed PSC (a value which corresponds well to several previous studies). This lower value is likely to be due to colder background temperatures already achieving the TNAT threshold unaided. Additionally, there is a reduction in the magnitude of gravity waves perturbations observed as POAM III samples poleward of the peninsula.

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Radio wave Doppler studies of the Antarctic ionosphere

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.1977.0086 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 279 (963) ◽

pp. 239-246 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Keyword(s):

Energy Balance ◽

Radio Wave ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Doppler Studies ◽

Preliminary Results ◽

Short Period ◽

The Antarctic

The occurence of propagating wave-like disturbances in the atmosphere at ionospheric heights is well documented, but their causes and role in the energy balance of the atmosphere is poorly understood. This paper describes an experiment deployed in the Antarctic Peninsula region to investigate the morphology of the various classes of disturbance, with particular emphasis on the identification of their sources. Current knowledge of the phenomena is briefly reviewed and the reasons why observations in the peninsula region may be especially valuable are discussed. Some preliminary results from the first 3 months of operation are presented; these indicate the presence of waves with periods ranging from less than 1 min to more than 90 min. The short period waves (1-5 min) are unusually common in these data.

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Stratospheric gravity waves at Southern Hemisphere orographic hotspots: 2003–2014 AIRS/Aqua observations

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-9381-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (14) ◽

pp. 9381-9397 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Lars Hoffmann ◽

Alison W. Grimsdell ◽

M. Joan Alexander

Keyword(s):

Gravity Wave ◽

Southern Hemisphere ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Gravity Waves ◽

General Circulation ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Small Scale ◽

Mountain Wave ◽

Kerguelen Islands ◽

The Antarctic

Abstract. Stratospheric gravity waves from small-scale orographic sources are currently not well-represented in general circulation models. This may be a reason why many simulations have difficulty reproducing the dynamical behavior of the Southern Hemisphere polar vortex in a realistic manner. Here we discuss a 12-year record (2003–2014) of stratospheric gravity wave activity at Southern Hemisphere orographic hotspots as observed by the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Aqua satellite. We introduce a simple and effective approach, referred to as the “two-box method”, to detect gravity wave activity from infrared nadir sounder measurements and to discriminate between gravity waves from orographic and other sources. From austral mid-fall to mid-spring (April–October) the contributions of orographic sources to the observed gravity wave occurrence frequencies were found to be largest for the Andes (90 %), followed by the Antarctic Peninsula (76 %), Kerguelen Islands (73 %), Tasmania (70 %), New Zealand (67 %), Heard Island (60 %), and other hotspots (24–54 %). Mountain wave activity was found to be closely correlated with peak terrain altitudes, and with zonal winds in the lower troposphere and mid-stratosphere. We propose a simple model to predict the occurrence of mountain wave events in the AIRS observations using zonal wind thresholds at 3 and 750 hPa. The model has significant predictive skill for hotspots where gravity wave activity is primarily due to orographic sources. It typically reproduces seasonal variations of the mountain wave occurrence frequencies at the Antarctic Peninsula and Kerguelen Islands from near zero to over 60 % with mean absolute errors of 4–5 percentage points. The prediction model can be used to disentangle upper level wind effects on observed occurrence frequencies from low-level source and other influences. The data and methods presented here can help to identify interesting case studies in the vast amount of AIRS data, which could then be further explored to study the specific characteristics of stratospheric gravity waves from orographic sources and to support model validation.

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Large-amplitude gravity waves above the southern Andes, the Drake Passage, and the Antarctic Peninsula

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ◽

10.1029/2011jd016377 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 117 (D2) ◽

pp. n/a-n/a ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

A. de la Torre ◽

P. Alexander ◽

R. Hierro ◽

P. Llamedo ◽

A. Rolla ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Gravity Waves ◽

Large Amplitude ◽

Drake Passage ◽

Southern Andes ◽

The Antarctic

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Stratospheric gravity waves at southern hemisphere orographic hotspots: 2003–2014 AIRS/Aqua observations

10.5194/acp-2016-341 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Lars Hoffmann ◽

Alison W. Grimsdell ◽

M. Joan Alexander

Keyword(s):

Gravity Wave ◽

Southern Hemisphere ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Gravity Waves ◽

General Circulation ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Small Scale ◽

Mountain Wave ◽

Kerguelen Islands ◽

The Antarctic

Abstract. Stratospheric gravity waves from small-scale orographic sources are currently not well-represented in general circulation models. This may be a reason why many simulations have difficulty reproducing the dynamical behaviour of the southern hemisphere polar vortex in a realistic manner. Here we discuss a 12-year record (2003–2014) of stratospheric gravity wave activity at southern hemisphere orographic hotspots as observed by the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Aqua satellite. We introduce a simple and effective approach, referred to as the "two-box method", to detect gravity wave activity from infrared nadir sounder measurements and to discriminate between gravity waves from orographic and other sources. From austral mid fall to mid spring (April–October) the contributions of orographic sources to the observed gravity wave occurrence frequencies were found to be largest for the Andes (90 %), followed by the Antarctic Peninsula (76 %), Kerguelen Islands (73 %), Tasmania (70 %), New Zealand (67 %), Heard Island (60 %), and other hotspots (24–54 %). Mountain wave activity was found to be closely correlated with peak terrain altitudes, and with zonal winds in the lower troposphere and mid stratosphere. We propose a simple model to predict the occurrence of mountain wave events in the AIRS observations using zonal wind thresholds at 3 hPa and 750 hPa. The model has significant predictive skill for hotspots where gravity wave activity is primarily due to orographic sources. It typically reproduces seasonal variations of the mountain wave occurrence frequencies at the Antarctic Peninsula and Kerguelen Islands from near zero to over 60 % with mean absolute errors of 4–5 percentage points. The prediction model can be used to disentangle upper level wind effects on observed occurrence frequencies from low level source and other influences. The data and methods presented here can help to identify interesting case studies in the vast amount of AIRS data, which could then be further explored to study the specific characteristics of stratospheric gravity waves from orographic sources and to support model validation.

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Crustacea Tanaidacea of the Antarctic and the Subantarctic: 1. On Material Collected at Tierra del Fuego, Isla de los Estados, and the West Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula

10.1029/ar045 ◽

1986 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jürgen Sieg

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

West Coast ◽

Tierra Del Fuego ◽

The West ◽

The Antarctic

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Open ocean and coastal new particle formation from sulfuric acid and amines around the Antarctic Peninsula

Nature Geoscience ◽

10.1038/s41561-021-00751-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

James Brean ◽

Manuel Dall’Osto ◽

Rafel Simó ◽

Zongbo Shi ◽

David C. S. Beddows ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sulfuric Acid ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Particle Formation ◽

Open Ocean ◽

New Particle Formation ◽

The Antarctic

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Diurnal and seasonal variability of short-period gravity waves at ∼40° N using meteor radar wind observations

Advances in Space Research ◽

10.1016/j.asr.2021.03.028 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Caixia Tian ◽

Xiong Hu ◽

Alan Z. Liu ◽

Zhaoai Yan ◽

Qingchen Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gravity Waves ◽

Seasonal Variability ◽

Meteor Radar ◽

Short Period

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Mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet 1992–2016: reconciling results from GRACE gravimetry with ICESat, ERS1/2 and Envisat altimetry

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/jog.2021.8 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-27

Author(s):

H. Jay Zwally ◽

John W. Robbins ◽

Scott B. Luthcke ◽

Bryant D. Loomis ◽

Frédérique Rémy

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

East Antarctica ◽

Mantle Material ◽

West Antarctica ◽

Mantle Viscosity ◽

Grounding Line ◽

The Antarctic ◽

Total Gain

Abstract GRACE and ICESat Antarctic mass-balance differences are resolved utilizing their dependencies on corrections for changes in mass and volume of the same underlying mantle material forced by ice-loading changes. Modeled gravimetry corrections are 5.22 times altimetry corrections over East Antarctica (EA) and 4.51 times over West Antarctica (WA), with inferred mantle densities 4.75 and 4.11 g cm−3. Derived sensitivities (Sg, Sa) to bedrock motion enable calculation of motion (δB0) needed to equalize GRACE and ICESat mass changes during 2003–08. For EA, δB0 is −2.2 mm a−1 subsidence with mass matching at 150 Gt a−1, inland WA is −3.5 mm a−1 at 66 Gt a−1, and coastal WA is only −0.35 mm a−1 at −95 Gt a−1. WA subsidence is attributed to low mantle viscosity with faster responses to post-LGM deglaciation and to ice growth during Holocene grounding-line readvance. EA subsidence is attributed to Holocene dynamic thickening. With Antarctic Peninsula loss of −26 Gt a−1, the Antarctic total gain is 95 ± 25 Gt a−1 during 2003–08, compared to 144 ± 61 Gt a−1 from ERS1/2 during 1992–2001. Beginning in 2009, large increases in coastal WA dynamic losses overcame long-term EA and inland WA gains bringing Antarctica close to balance at −12 ± 64 Gt a−1 by 2012–16.

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