Gravity wave intermittency derived from HIRDLS and SABER satellite limb soundings

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred Ern ◽  
Peter Preusse ◽  
Martin Riese
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Background Flow ◽  
Wave Source ◽  
Gini Coefficients ◽  
Broadband Emission ◽  
Wave Distribution

<p>Sources of atmospheric gravity waves are mostly located in the troposphere and the lower stratosphere. Gravity waves propagate away from their sources, re-distribute energy and momentum in the atmosphere, and exert drag on the atmospheric background flow where they dissipate. Therefore they are important drivers of the atmospheric circulation. In climate models, their effect on the background circulation is usually parameterized because of their relatively short horizontal and vertical wavelengths that are of the order of 10-1000km and 1-100km, respectively. Gravity wave parametrizations are very simplified. For example, they often neglect the fact that gravity wave source processes and gravity wave propagation conditions can vary on short temporal and spatial scales. Therefore the global distribution of gravity wave activity is very intermittent, which has also important consequences where gravity waves dissipate and exert drag on the background flow, and which should be accounted for in parametrizations.<br>For guiding models, global observations of the gravity wave distribution and its intermittency are needed. We derive gravity wave potential energies and absolute momentum fluxes from observations of the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) and the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) satellite instruments. As a measure of intermittency, we calculate global distributions of Gini coefficients. We find that our results are qualitatively in good agreement with previous findings from satellite, and similar in magnitude to intermittency obtained from previous superpressure balloon campaigns. In the stratosphere, strongest intermittency is found over orographic gravity wave sources, followed by gravity wave activity in the polar night jets. Intermittency in the tropical stratosphere is weakest. However, in the tropical upper mesosphere intermittency is increased, which is likely caused by the modulation of the gravity wave distribution by tides.</p>

scholarly journals A Comparison between Gravity Wave Momentum Fluxes in Observations and Climate Models

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (17) ◽  
pp. 6383-6405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin A. Geller ◽  
M. Joan Alexander ◽  
Peter T. Love ◽  
Julio Bacmeister ◽  
Manfred Ern ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
Wave Source ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Momentum Fluxes ◽  
High Resolution Models ◽  
Wave Momentum

Abstract For the first time, a formal comparison is made between gravity wave momentum fluxes in models and those derived from observations. Although gravity waves occur over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, the focus of this paper is on scales that are being parameterized in present climate models, sub-1000-km scales. Only observational methods that permit derivation of gravity wave momentum fluxes over large geographical areas are discussed, and these are from satellite temperature measurements, constant-density long-duration balloons, and high-vertical-resolution radiosonde data. The models discussed include two high-resolution models in which gravity waves are explicitly modeled, Kanto and the Community Atmosphere Model, version 5 (CAM5), and three climate models containing gravity wave parameterizations, MAECHAM5, Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model 3 (HadGEM3), and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) model. Measurements generally show similar flux magnitudes as in models, except that the fluxes derived from satellite measurements fall off more rapidly with height. This is likely due to limitations on the observable range of wavelengths, although other factors may contribute. When one accounts for this more rapid fall off, the geographical distribution of the fluxes from observations and models compare reasonably well, except for certain features that depend on the specification of the nonorographic gravity wave source functions in the climate models. For instance, both the observed fluxes and those in the high-resolution models are very small at summer high latitudes, but this is not the case for some of the climate models. This comparison between gravity wave fluxes from climate models, high-resolution models, and fluxes derived from observations indicates that such efforts offer a promising path toward improving specifications of gravity wave sources in climate models.

scholarly journals Gravity wave penetration into the thermosphere: sensitivity to solar cycle variations and mean winds

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 3841-3861 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. Fritts ◽  
S. L. Vadas
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cycle ◽  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Wave Structure ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Viscous Effects ◽  
Wave Source ◽  
Wave Phase

Abstract. We previously considered various aspects of gravity wave penetration and effects at mesospheric and thermospheric altitudes, including propagation, viscous effects on wave structure, characteristics, and damping, local body forcing, responses to solar cycle temperature variations, and filtering by mean winds. Several of these efforts focused on gravity waves arising from deep convection or in situ body forcing accompanying wave dissipation. Here we generalize these results to a broad range of gravity wave phase speeds, spatial scales, and intrinsic frequencies in order to address all of the major gravity wave sources in the lower atmosphere potentially impacting the thermosphere. We show how penetration altitudes depend on gravity wave phase speed, horizontal and vertical wavelengths, and observed frequencies for a range of thermospheric temperatures spanning realistic solar conditions and winds spanning reasonable mean and tidal amplitudes. Our results emphasize that independent of gravity wave source, thermospheric temperature, and filtering conditions, those gravity waves that penetrate to the highest altitudes have increasing vertical wavelengths and decreasing intrinsic frequencies with increasing altitude. The spatial scales at the highest altitudes at which gravity wave perturbations are observed are inevitably horizontal wavelengths of ~150 to 1000 km and vertical wavelengths of ~150 to 500 km or more, with the larger horizontal scales only becoming important for the stronger Doppler-shifting conditions. Observed and intrinsic periods are typically ~10 to 60 min and ~10 to 30 min, respectively, with the intrinsic periods shorter at the highest altitudes because of preferential penetration of GWs that are up-shifted in frequency by thermospheric winds.

scholarly journals GRACILE: A comprehensive climatology of atmospheric gravity wave parameters based on satellite limb soundings

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred Ern ◽  
Quang Thai Trinh ◽  
Peter Preusse ◽  
John C. Gille ◽  
Martin G. Mlynczak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Atmospheric Gravity Wave ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Wave Source ◽  
Global Data ◽  
Satellite Instruments

Abstract. Gravity waves are one of the main drivers of atmospheric dynamics. The spatial resolution of most global atmospheric models, however, is too coarse to properly resolve the small scales of gravity waves, which range from tens to a few thousand kilometers horizontally, and from below 1 km to tens of kilometers vertically. Gravity wave source processes involve even smaller scales. Therefore, general circulation models (GCMs) and chemistry climate models (CCMs) usually parametrize the effect of gravity waves on the global circulation. These parametrizations are very simplified. For this reason, comparisons with global observations of gravity waves are needed for an improvement of parametrizations and an alleviation of model biases. We present a gravity wave climatology based on atmospheric infrared limb emissions observed by satellite (GRACILE). GRACILE is a global data set of gravity wave distributions observed in the stratosphere and the mesosphere by the infrared limb sounding satellite instruments High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) and Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER). Typical distributions (zonal averages and global maps) of gravity wave vertical wavelengths and along-track horizontal wavenumbers are provided, as well as gravity wave temperature variances, potential energies and absolute momentum fluxes. This global data set captures the typical seasonal variations of these parameters, as well as their spatial variations. The GRACILE data set is suitable for scientific studies, and it can serve for comparison with other instruments (ground based, airborne, or other satellite instruments) and for comparison with gravity wave distributions, both resolved and parametrized, in GCMs and CCMs. The GRACILE data set is available as supplementary data at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.879658.

scholarly journals GRACILE: a comprehensive climatology of atmospheric gravity wave parameters based on satellite limb soundings

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 857-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred Ern ◽  
Quang Thai Trinh ◽  
Peter Preusse ◽  
John C. Gille ◽  
Martin G. Mlynczak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Atmospheric Gravity Wave ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Wave Source ◽  
Global Data ◽  
Satellite Instruments

Abstract. Gravity waves are one of the main drivers of atmospheric dynamics. The spatial resolution of most global atmospheric models, however, is too coarse to properly resolve the small scales of gravity waves, which range from tens to a few thousand kilometers horizontally, and from below 1 km to tens of kilometers vertically. Gravity wave source processes involve even smaller scales. Therefore, general circulation models (GCMs) and chemistry climate models (CCMs) usually parametrize the effect of gravity waves on the global circulation. These parametrizations are very simplified. For this reason, comparisons with global observations of gravity waves are needed for an improvement of parametrizations and an alleviation of model biases. We present a gravity wave climatology based on atmospheric infrared limb emissions observed by satellite (GRACILE). GRACILE is a global data set of gravity wave distributions observed in the stratosphere and the mesosphere by the infrared limb sounding satellite instruments High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) and Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER). Typical distributions (zonal averages and global maps) of gravity wave vertical wavelengths and along-track horizontal wavenumbers are provided, as well as gravity wave temperature variances, potential energies and absolute momentum fluxes. This global data set captures the typical seasonal variations of these parameters, as well as their spatial variations. The GRACILE data set is suitable for scientific studies, and it can serve for comparison with other instruments (ground-based, airborne, or other satellite instruments) and for comparison with gravity wave distributions, both resolved and parametrized, in GCMs and CCMs. The GRACILE data set is available as supplementary data at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.879658.

scholarly journals Influence of the cloud-level neutral layer on the vertical propagation of topographically generated gravity waves on Venus

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeru Yamada ◽  
Takeshi Imamura ◽  
Tetsuya Fukuhara ◽  
Makoto Taguchi
Keyword(s):  
Layer Thickness ◽  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Local Time ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Neutral Layer ◽  
Low Latitudes ◽  
Vertical Propagation ◽  
The Waves

AbstractThe reason for stationary gravity waves at Venus’ cloud top to appear mostly at low latitudes in the afternoon is not understood. Since a neutral layer exists in the lower part of the cloud layer, the waves should be affected by the neutral layer before reaching the cloud top. To what extent gravity waves can propagate vertically through the neutral layer has been unclear. To examine the possibility that the variation of the neutral layer thickness is responsible for the dependence of the gravity wave activity on the latitude and the local time, we investigated the sensitivity of the vertical propagation of gravity waves on the neutral layer thickness using a numerical model. The results showed that stationary gravity waves with zonal wavelengths longer than 1000 km can propagate to the cloud-top level without notable attenuation in the neutral layer with realistic thicknesses of 5–15 km. This suggests that the observed latitudinal and local time variation of the gravity wave activity should be attributed to processes below the cloud. An analytical approach also showed that gravity waves with horizontal wavelengths shorter than tens of kilometers would be strongly attenuated in the neutral layer; such waves should originate in the altitude region above the neutral layer.

scholarly journals Seasonal changes in gravity wave activity measured by lidars at mid-latitudes

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (22) ◽  
pp. 6775-6787 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Rauthe ◽  
M. Gerding ◽  
F.-J. Lübken
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Atmospheric Physics ◽  
Adverse Weather Conditions ◽  
Comprehensive Information ◽  
Adverse Weather

Abstract. More than 230 nights of temperature measurements between 1 and 105 km have been performed at the Leibniz-Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Kühlungsborn with a combination of two different lidars, i.e. a Rayleigh-Mie-Raman lidar and a potassium lidar. About 1700 h of measurements have been collected between 2002 and 2006. Apart from some gaps due to the adverse weather conditions the measurements are well distributed throughout the year. Comprehensive information about the activity of medium- and low-frequency gravity waves was extracted from this data set. The dominating vertical wavelengths found are between 10 and 20 km and do not show any seasonal variation. In contrast the temperature fluctuations due to gravity waves experience a clear annual cycle with a maximum in winter. The most significant differences exist around 60 km where the fluctuations in winter are more than two times larger than they are in summer. Only small seasonal differences are observed above 90 km and below 35 km. Generally, the fluctuations grow from about 0.5 K up to 8 K between 20 and 100 km. Damping of waves is observed at nearly all altitudes and in all seasons. The planetary wave activity shows a similar structure in altitude and season as the gravity wave activity which indicates that similar mechanisms influencing different scales. Combining the monthly mean temperatures and the fluctuations we show that the transition between winter and summer season and vice versa seems to start in the mesopause region and to penetrate downward.

scholarly journals Seasonal variations in gravity wave activity at three locations in Brazil

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 1059-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. R. Clemesha ◽  
P. P. Batista ◽  
R. A. Buriti da Costa ◽  
N. Schuch
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Close Correlation ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Equatorial Station ◽  
Wave Forcing ◽  
Santa Maria ◽  
Fluctuating Wind

Abstract. Using the variance in meteor radar winds as a measure of gravity wave activity, we investigate the temporal variations in gravity waves at three locations in Brazil: São João do Cariri (7.3° S, 36.4° W), Cachoeira Paulista (22.7° S, 45.0° W) and Santa Maria (29.7° S, 53.7° W). The technique used is that of Hocking (2005) which makes it possible to separate the zonal and meridional components of the fluctuating wind velocity. We find that the seasonal variation of the fluctuating wind is similar to that of the amplitude of the diurnal tide, showing a predominantly semi-annual variation, stronger at Cachoeira Paulista and Santa Maria than at the quasi-equatorial station, Cariri. Both with respect to the seasonal trend and shorter term variations, strong coupling between gravity wave activity and tides is indicated by a remarkably close correlation between the fluctuating velocity and the vertical shear in the tidal winds. It is not clear as to whether this is caused by gravity wave forcing of the tides or whether it results from in situ generation of gravity waves by tidal wind shear.

scholarly journals Intercomparison of stratospheric gravity wave observations with AIRS and IASI

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 4517-4537 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Hoffmann ◽  
M. J. Alexander ◽  
C. Clerbaux ◽  
A. W. Grimsdell ◽  
C. I. Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Stratospheric Temperature ◽  
Consistent Picture ◽  
Time Variations

Abstract. Gravity waves are an important driver for the atmospheric circulation and have substantial impact on weather and climate. Satellite instruments offer excellent opportunities to study gravity waves on a global scale. This study focuses on observations from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) onboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Aqua satellite and the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) onboard the European MetOp satellites. The main aim of this study is an intercomparison of stratospheric gravity wave observations of both instruments. In particular, we analyzed AIRS and IASI 4.3 μm brightness temperature measurements, which directly relate to stratospheric temperature. Three case studies showed that AIRS and IASI provide a clear and consistent picture of the temporal development of individual gravity wave events. Statistical comparisons based on a 5-year period of measurements (2008–2012) showed similar spatial and temporal patterns of gravity wave activity. However, the statistical comparisons also revealed systematic differences of variances between AIRS and IASI that we attribute to the different spatial measurement characteristics of both instruments. We also found differences between day- and nighttime data that are partly due to the local time variations of the gravity wave sources. While AIRS has been used successfully in many previous gravity wave studies, IASI data are applied here for the first time for that purpose. Our study shows that gravity wave observations from different hyperspectral infrared sounders such as AIRS and IASI can be directly related to each other, if instrument-specific characteristics such as different noise levels and spatial resolution and sampling are carefully considered. The ability to combine observations from different satellites provides an opportunity to create a long-term record, which is an exciting prospect for future climatological studies of stratospheric gravity wave activity.

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

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (14) ◽  
pp. 9381-9397 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Intercomparison of AIRS and HIRDLS stratospheric gravity wave observations

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catrin I. Meyer ◽  
Manfred Ern ◽  
Lars Hoffmann ◽  
Quang Thai Trinh ◽  
M. Joan Alexander
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Momentum Flux ◽  
Wave Spectrum ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Wave Event ◽  
The Waves

Abstract. We investigate stratospheric gravity wave observations by the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite and the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) aboard NASA's Aura satellite. AIRS operational temperature retrievals are typically not used for studies of gravity waves, because their vertical and horizontal resolution is rather limited. This study uses data of a high-resolution retrieval which provides stratospheric temperature profiles for each individual satellite footprint. Therefore the horizontal sampling of the high-resolution retrieval is 9 times better than that of the operational retrieval. HIRDLS provides 2-D spectral information of observed gravity waves in terms of along-track and vertical wavelengths. AIRS as a nadir sounder is more sensitive to short-horizontal-wavelength gravity waves, and HIRDLS as a limb sounder is more sensitive to short-vertical-wavelength gravity waves. Therefore HIRDLS is ideally suited to complement AIRS observations. A calculated momentum flux factor indicates that the waves seen by AIRS contribute significantly to momentum flux, even if the AIRS temperature variance may be small compared to HIRDLS. The stratospheric wave structures observed by AIRS and HIRDLS often agree very well. Case studies of a mountain wave event and a non-orographic wave event demonstrate that the observed phase structures of AIRS and HIRDLS are also similar. AIRS has a coarser vertical resolution, which results in an attenuation of the amplitude and coarser vertical wavelengths than for HIRDLS. However, AIRS has a much higher horizontal resolution, and the propagation direction of the waves can be clearly identified in geographical maps. The horizontal orientation of the phase fronts can be deduced from AIRS 3-D temperature fields. This is a restricting factor for gravity wave analyses of limb measurements. Additionally, temperature variances with respect to stratospheric gravity wave activity are compared on a statistical basis. The complete HIRDLS measurement period from January 2005 to March 2008 is covered. The seasonal and latitudinal distributions of gravity wave activity as observed by AIRS and HIRDLS agree well. A strong annual cycle at mid- and high latitudes is found in time series of gravity wave variances at 42 km, which has its maxima during wintertime and its minima during summertime. The variability is largest during austral wintertime at 60∘ S. Variations in the zonal winds at 2.5 hPa are associated with large variability in gravity wave variances. Altogether, gravity wave variances of AIRS and HIRDLS are complementary to each other. Large parts of the gravity wave spectrum are covered by joint observations. This opens up fascinating vistas for future gravity wave research.

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