scholarly journals Longitudinal structure of stationary planetary waves in the middle atmosphere – extraordinary years

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-192
Author(s):  
Jan Lastovicka ◽  
Peter Krizan ◽  
Michal Kozubek
Keyword(s):  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Cell Structure ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Meridional Wind ◽  
Positive Phase ◽  
Longitudinal Structure ◽  
Wind Pattern ◽  
The Mean

Abstract. One important but little studied factor in the middle atmosphere meridional circulation is its longitudinal structure. Kozubek et al. (2015) disclosed the existence of the two-cell longitudinal structure in meridional wind at 10 hPa at higher latitudes in January. This two-cell structure is a consequence of the stratospheric stationary wave SPW1 in geopotential heights. Therefore here the longitudinal structure in geopotential heights and meridional wind is analysed based on MERRA data over 1979–2013 and limited NOGAPS-ALPHA data in order to find its persistence and altitudinal dependence with focus on extraordinary years. The SPW1 in geopotential heights and related two-cell structure in meridional wind covers the middle stratosphere (lower boundary ∼ 50 hPa), upper stratosphere and most of the mesosphere (almost up to about 0.01 hPa). The two-cell longitudinal structure in meridional wind is a relatively persistent feature; only 9 out of 35 winters (Januaries) display more complex structure. Morphologically the deviation of these extraordinary Januaries consists in upward propagation of the second (Euro-Atlantic) peak (i.e. SPW2 structure) to higher altitudes than usually, mostly up to the mesosphere. All these Januaries occurred under the positive phase of PNA (Pacific North American) index but there are also other Januaries under its positive phase, which behave in an ordinary way. The decisive role in the existence of extraordinary years (Januaries) appears to be played by the SPW filtering by the zonal wind pattern. In all ordinary years the mean zonal wind pattern in January allows the upward propagation of SPW1 (Aleutian peak in geopotential heights) up to the mesosphere but it does not allow the upward propagation of the Euro-Atlantic SPW2 peak to and above the 10 hPa level. On the other hand, the mean zonal wind filtering pattern in extraordinary Januaries is consistent with the observed pattern of geopotential heights at higher altitudes. Keywords. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics)

scholarly journals Characteristics of Stratospheric Winds over Jiuquan (41.1°N, 100.2°E) Using Rocketsonde Data in 1967–2004

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Sheng ◽  
J. W. Li ◽  
Y. Jiang ◽  
S. D. Zhou ◽  
W. L. Shi
Keyword(s):  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Meridional Wind ◽  
Horizontal Wind ◽  
Cycle Period ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Wind Fields ◽  
Zonal Winds ◽  
Model Research

AbstractStratospheric winds play a significant role in middle atmosphere dynamics, model research, and carrier rocket experiments. For the first time, 65 sets of rocket sounding experiments conducted at Jiuquan (41.1°N, 100.2°E), China, from 1967 to 2004 are presented to study horizontal wind fields in the stratosphere. At a fixed height, wind speed obeys the lognormal distribution. Seasonal mean winds are westerly in winter and easterly in summer. In spring and autumn, zonal wind directions change from the upper to the lower stratosphere. The monthly zonal mean winds have an annual cycle period with large amplitudes at high altitudes. The correlation coefficients for zonal winds between observations and the Horizontal Wind Model (HWM) with all datasets are 0.7. The MERRA reanalysis is in good agreement with rocketsonde data according to the zonal winds comparison with a coefficient of 0.98. The sudden stratospheric warming is an important contribution to biases in the HWM, because it changes the zonal wind direction in the midlatitudes. Both the model and the reanalysis show dramatic meridional wind differences with the observation data.

Sensitivity of middle atmosphere GW forcing to vertical model resolution

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Schneidereit ◽  
Hauke Schmidt ◽  
Claudia Stephan
Keyword(s):  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Wave Spectrum ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Vertical Gradient ◽  
Summer Season ◽  
Grid Spacing ◽  
Flux Divergence ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Horizontal Grid

<p>Several current general atmospheric circulation models provide sufficiently high resolutions to resolve important parts of the internal gravity wave spectrum allowing for numerical experiments without GW drag parameterizations. GWs start to be well resolved from horizontal wavelengths of about 7 times the horizontal grid spacing. How much does the resolved wave spectrum and its forcing on the mean circulation depend on the vertical resolution?</p><p>−1,The middle atmosphere summer hemisphere provides a suitable background to investigate this question. The mean stratospheric and mesospheric circulation is characterised by prevailing easterlies which prevent planetary wave propagation upwards and represents a mean state driven by IGWs. The sensitivity of the forcing by IGWs is analysed on the basis of the Eliassen-Palm (EP) flux divergence, which describes the forcing on the circulation by resolved eddies.<br>Model simulations are performed using the upper atmosphere version of the ICON (ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic) general circulation model, UA-ICON (Borchert et al. 2019, GMD). The simulations start in October and run for an extended austral summer season until March with a horizontal grid spacing of roughly 20 km. The top of the model atmosphere is located at 150 km. Three different model configurations are used with 90, 180, and 360 vertical model layers. The mean vertical grid spacing ranges from roughly 1300 m (90 layers) to 320 m (360 layers) at stratospheric levels, and from roughly 2300 m to 500 m at mesospheric levels. Gravity wave drag parameterizations (orographic and non-orographic) are turned off. The resolved forcing on the mean state due to the EP flux divergence is decomposed into contributions of different scales with respect to horizontal wave numbers. For contributions of IGWs wave numbers above 20 are considered.</p><p>The stratospheric and mesospheric easterlies appear stronger in the lower resolution from October to the end of the austral summer season. Westerlies occur above the mesopause. This strong vertical gradient in the zonal mean zonal wind amplifies in the lower resolution. At the beginning of the simulation period, differences between the mean states are weak, of the order of 5 ms<sup>−1</sup> , and strengthen during the summer season. The forcing due to internal GWs appears stronger in the lower resolution at higher altitudes and amplifies in the region of the strong vertical gradient of the zonal mean zonal wind. Furthermore, wave spectra are discussed. In accordance with previous studies, an increased vertical resolution results in a reduction of the IGW forcing close to strong zonal mean zonal wind gradients in the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere.</p>

scholarly journals Meteor radar observations of atmospheric waves in the equatorial mesosphere/lower thermosphere over Ascension Island

2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Pancheva ◽  
N. J. Mitchell ◽  
P. T. Younger
Keyword(s):  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
Meridional Wind ◽  
Kelvin Wave ◽  
Vertical Wavelength ◽  
Period Range ◽  
Meridional Component ◽  
Ascension Island ◽  
Waves And Tides

Abstract. Some preliminary results about the planetary wave characteristics observed during the first seven months (October 2001-April 2002) of observations over Ascension Island (7.9°S, 14.4°W) are reported in this study. The zonal wind is dominated by the 3–7-day waves, while the meridional component – by the quasi-2-day wave. Two wave events in the zonal wind are studied in detail: a 3–4-day wave observed in the end of October/November and the 3–6-day wave in January/February. The moderate 3- and 3.2-day waves are interpreted as an ultra-fast Kelvin wave, while for the strong 4-day wave we are not able to make a firm decision. The 6-day wave is interpreted as a Doppler-shifted 5-day normal mode, due to its very large vertical wavelength (79km). The quasi-2-day wave seems to be present almost continuously in the meridional wind, but the strongest bursts are observed mainly in December and January. The observed period range is large, from 34 to 68h, with some clustering around 43–44 and 50h. The estimated vertical wavelengths indicate shorter lengths during the equinoxes, in the range of 25-30km, and longer ones, ∼40–50km, in January/February, when the 48-h wave is strongest. Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics middle atmosphere dynamics, waves and tides)

scholarly journals On the influence of zonal gravity wave distributions on the Southern Hemisphere winter circulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 785-798 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Lilienthal ◽  
Christoph Jacobi ◽  
Torsten Schmidt ◽  
Alejandro de la Torre ◽  
Peter Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Global Circulation Model ◽  
Global Circulation ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Hemisphere Winter

Abstract. A mechanistic global circulation model is used to simulate the Southern Hemisphere stratospheric, mesospheric, and lower thermospheric circulation during austral winter. The model includes a gravity wave (GW) parameterization that is initiated by prescribed 2-D fields of GW parameters in the troposphere. These are based on observations of GW potential energy calculated using GPS radio occultations and show enhanced GW activity east of the Andes and around the Antarctic. In order to detect the influence of an observation-based and thus realistic 2-D GW distribution on the middle atmosphere circulation, we perform model experiments with zonal mean and 2-D GW initialization, and additionally with and without forcing of stationary planetary waves (SPWs) at the lower boundary of the model. As a result, we find additional forcing of SPWs in the stratosphere, a weaker zonal wind jet in the mesosphere, cooling of the mesosphere and warming near the mesopause above the jet. SPW wavenumber 1 (SPW1) amplitudes are generally increased by about 10 % when GWs are introduced being longitudinally dependent. However, at the upper part of the zonal wind jet, SPW1 in zonal wind and GW acceleration are out of phase, which reduces the amplitudes there.

scholarly journals First experimental verification of summertime mesospheric momentum balance based on radar wind measurements at 69° N

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 1091-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Placke ◽  
P. Hoffmann ◽  
M. Rapp
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Meridional Wind ◽  
Momentum Balance ◽  
Additional Contribution ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Annual Cycles ◽  
Coriolis Acceleration ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Zonal Momentum Balance

Abstract. Gravity waves (GWs) greatly influence the background state of the middle atmosphere by imposing their momentum on the mean flow upon breaking and by thus driving, e.g., the upper mesospheric summer zonal wind reversal. In this situation momentum is conserved by a balance between the vertical divergence of GW momentum flux (the so-called GW drag) and the Coriolis acceleration of the mean meridional wind. In this study, we present first quantitative mean annual cycles of these two balancing quantities from the medium frequency Doppler radar at the polar site Saura (SMF radar, 69° N, 16° E). Three-year means for 2009 through 2011 clearly show that the observed zonal momentum balance between 70 and 100 km with contributions from GWs only is fulfilled during summer when GW activity is strongest and more stable than in winter. During winter, the balance between GW drag and Coriolis acceleration of the mean meridional wind is not existent, which is likely due to the additional contribution from planetary waves, which are not considered by the present investigation. The differences in the momentum balance between summer and winter conditions are additionally clarified by 3-month mean vertical profiles for summer 2010 and winter 2010/2011.

scholarly journals A study into the effect of the diurnal tide on the structure of the background mesosphere and thermosphere using the new coupled middle atmosphere and thermosphere (CMAT) general circulation model

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Harris ◽  
N. F. Arnold ◽  
A. D. Aylward
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation Model ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Atomic Oxygen ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Diurnal Tide ◽  
Temperature Structure ◽  
The Mean

Abstract. A new coupled middle atmosphere and thermosphere general circulation model has been developed, and some first results are presented. An investigation into the effects of the diurnal tide upon the mean composition, dynamics and energetics was carried out for equinox conditions. Previous studies have shown that tides deplete mean atomic oxygen in the upper mesosphere-lower thermosphere due to an increased recombination in the tidal displaced air parcels. The model runs presented suggest that the mean residual circulation associated with the tidal dissipation also plays an important role. Stronger lower boundary tidal forcing was seen to increase the equatorial local diurnal maximum of atomic oxygen and the associated 0(1S) 557.7 nm green line volume emission rates. The changes in the mean background temperature structure were found to correspond to changes in the mean circulation and exothermic chemical heating.Key words. Atmospheric composition and structure (middle atmosphere – composition and chemistry) Meterology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; waves and tides)

scholarly journals Observation of horizontal winds in the middle-atmosphere between 30° S and 55° N during the northern winter 2009–2010

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6049-6064 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Baron ◽  
D. P. Murtagh ◽  
J. Urban ◽  
H. Sagawa ◽  
S. Ochiai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Space Station ◽  
Meridional Wind ◽  
Mean Difference ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Absolute Value ◽  
Zonal Winds ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract. Although the links between stratospheric dynamics, climate and weather have been demonstrated, direct observations of stratospheric winds are lacking, in particular at altitudes above 30 km. We report observations of winds between 8 and 0.01 hPa (~35–80 km) from October 2009 to April 2010 by the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) on the International Space Station. The altitude range covers the region between 35–60 km where previous space-borne wind instruments show a lack of sensitivity. Both zonal and meridional wind components were obtained, though not simultaneously, in the latitude range from 30° S to 55° N and with a single profile precision of 7–9 m s–1 between 8 and 0.6 hPa and better than 20 m s–1 at altitudes above. The vertical resolution is 5–7 km except in the upper part of the retrieval range (10 km at 0.01 hPa). In the region between 1–0.05 hPa, an absolute value of the mean difference < 2 m s–1 is found between SMILES profiles retrieved from different spectroscopic lines and instrumental settings. Good agreement (absolute value of the mean difference of ~2 m s–1) is also found with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analysis in most of the stratosphere except for the zonal winds over the equator (difference > 5 m s−1). In the mesosphere, SMILES and ECMWF zonal winds exhibit large differences (> 20 m s–1), especially in the tropics. We illustrate our results by showing daily and monthly zonal wind variations, namely the semi-annual oscillation in the tropics and reversals of the flow direction between 50–55° N during sudden stratospheric warmings. The daily comparison with ECMWF winds reveals that in the beginning of February, a significantly stronger zonal westward flow is measured in the tropics at 2 hPa compared to the flow computed in the analysis (difference of ~20 m s–1). The results show that the comparison between SMILES and ECMWF winds is not only relevant for the quality assessment of the new SMILES winds, but it also provides insights on the quality of the ECMWF winds themselves. Although the instrument was not specifically designed for measuring winds, the results demonstrate that space-borne sub-mm wave radiometers have the potential to provide good quality data for improving the stratospheric winds in atmospheric models.

scholarly journals FPI observations of nighttime mesospheric and thermospheric winds in China and their comparisons with HWM07

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 1365-1378 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Yuan ◽  
X. Liu ◽  
J. Xu ◽  
Q. Zhou ◽  
G. Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Geomagnetic Latitude ◽  
Meridional Wind ◽  
Central China ◽  
Horizontal Wind ◽  
Zonal Winds ◽  
Meridional Winds ◽  
First Time

Abstract. We analyzed the nighttime horizontal neutral winds in the middle atmosphere (~ 87 and ~ 98 km) and thermosphere (~ 250 km) derived from a Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI), which was installed at Xinglong station (40.2° N, 117.4° E) in central China. The wind data covered the period from April 2010 to July 2012. We studied the annual, semiannual and terannual variations of the midnight winds at ~ 87 km, ~ 98 km and ~ 250 km for the first time and compared them with Horizontal Wind Model 2007 (HWM07). Our results show the following: (1) at ~ 87 km, both the observed and model zonal winds have similar phases in the annual and semiannual variations. However, the HWM07 amplitudes are much larger. (2) At ~ 98 km, the model shows strong eastward wind in the summer solstice, resulting in a large annual variation, while the observed strongest component is semiannual. The observation and model midnight meridional winds agree well. Both are equatorward throughout the year and have small amplitudes in the annual and semiannual variations. (3) There are large discrepancies between the observed and HWM07 winds at ~ 250 km. This discrepancy is largely due to the strong semiannual zonal wind in the model and the phase difference in the annual variation of the meridional wind. The FPI annual variation coincides with the results from Arecibo, which has similar geomagnetic latitude as Xinglong station. In General, the consistency of FPI winds with model winds is better at ~ 87 and ~ 98 km than that at ~ 250 km. We also studied the seasonally and monthly averaged nighttime winds. The most salient features include the following: (1) the seasonally averaged zonal winds at ~ 87 and ~ 98 km typically have small variations throughout the night. (2) The model zonal and meridional nighttime wind variations are typically much larger than those of observations at ~ 87 km and ~ 98 km. (3) At ~ 250 km, model zonal wind compares well with the observation in the winter. For spring and autumn, the model wind is more eastward before ~ 03:00 LT but more westward after. The observed nighttime zonal and meridional winds on average are close to zero in the summer and autumn, which indicates a lack of strong stable tides. The consistency of FPI zonal wind with model wind at ~ 250 km is better than the meridional wind.

scholarly journals On the evaluation of the phase relation between temperature and wind tides based on ground-based measurements and reanalysis data in the middle atmosphere

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Baumgarten ◽  
Gunter Stober
Keyword(s):  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Phase Relation ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Meridional Wind ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Tidal Waves ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Routine Basis

Abstract. The variability of the middle atmosphere is driven by a variety of waves covering different spatial and temporal scales. We are diagnosing the variability of the thermal tides due to changes in the background wind by an adaptive spectral filter, which takes the intermittency of tides into account. We apply this diagnostic to temperature observations from a daylight-capable lidar at mid-latitudes (54° N, 12° E) as well as to reanalysis data of horizontal winds from MERRA-2. These reanalysis data provide additional wind information in the altitude range between 30 and 70 km at the location of the lidar as well as on a global perspective. Using the global data gives information of the tidal modes seen at one location. A comparison of the temperature and wind information affirms whether there is a fixed phase relation of the tidal waves in the temperature and the wind data. We found that in general the local tidal signatures are dominated by migrating tidal modes and the signature is weaker in temperatures than in winds. While the meridional wind tide is leading the zonal wind tide by 90°, the phase relation between the temperature and the wind tide is more complex. At certain altitudes the temperature tide follows the zonal wind tide. This knowledge helps to improve the interpretation of the seasonal variation of tides from different observables especially when only data from single locations are used. The findings provide additional information about the phase stability of tidal waves and the results clearly show the importance of a measurement acquisition on a routine basis with high temporal and spatial resolution.

scholarly journals Eastward-propagating planetary wave in the polar middle atmosphere

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Tang ◽  
Sheng-Yang Gu ◽  
Xian-Kang Dou
Keyword(s):  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Planetary Wave ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Flow Instability ◽  
Diagnostic Analysis ◽  
Background Wind ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Zonal Wavenumber ◽  
Critical Layers ◽  
The Mean

Abstract. We presented the global variations of the eastward propagating wavenumber 1 (E1), 2 (E2), 3 (E3), and 4 (E4) planetary waves (PWs) and their diagnostic results in the polar middle atmosphere, using MERRA-2 temperature and wind datasets in 2019. It is clearly shown that the eastward wave modes exist during winter periods with westward background wind in both hemispheres. The maximum wave amplitudes in the southern hemisphere (SH) are slightly larger and lie lower than those in the northern hemisphere (NH). It is also found that the wave perturbations peak at lower latitudes with smaller amplitude as the wavenumber increases. The period of the E1 mode varies from 3 to 5 days in both hemispheres, while the period of E2 mode is slightly longer in the NH (48 h) than in the SH (40 h). The periods of the E3 are ~30 h in both SH and NH, and the period of E4 is ~24 h. Though the wave periods become shorter as the wavenumber increases, their mean phase speeds are relatively stable, which are ~53, ~58, ~55, and ~52 m/s at 70° latitudes for W1, W2, W3, and W4, respectively. The eastward PWs occur earlier with increasing zonal wavenumber, which agrees well with the seasonal variations of the background zonal wind through the generation of critical layers. Diagnostic analysis also shows that the mean flow instability in the upper stratosphere and upper mesosphere may both contribute to the amplification of the eastward PWs.

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