Infrasound from tropospheric sources: Impact on mesopause temperature?

Three- to six-day oscillations in the mesopause temperature have been observed all over the year. While these oscillations can be explained by planetary wave activity in wintertime, their summertime appearance is still under discussion.One effect possibly contributing to such summertime oscillations in the mesopause is acoustic heating. Infrasound generated by low-pressure areas or thunderstorm cells propagates into the upper atmosphere and deposits heat in this region. It is speculated that the oftentimes about weekly variation of low-pressure areas due to troposphere planetary wave activity is a potential source mechanism for mesopause temperature oscillations through infrasound as a transporting mechanism.The modeling structure of infrasound propagation as well as of acoustic heating is presented. It leads to the quantification of expected temperature fluctuations and acoustic heating rates at the mesopause height, which both appear to be too small to give a sole explanation for the 3–6-day oscillation.     

The cloud imaging and particle size experiment on the aeronomy of ice in the mesosphere mission: Cloud morphology for the northern 2007 season

The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) mission was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 4:26:03 EDT on April 25, 2007, becoming the first satellite mission dedicated to the study of noctilucent clouds (NLCs), also known as polar mesospheric clouds (PMC) when viewed from space. We present the first results from one of the three instruments on board the satellite, the Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) instrument. CIPS has produced detailed morphology of the Northern 2007 PMC and Southern 2007/2008 seasons with 5 km horizontal spatial resolution. CIPS, with its very large angular field of view, images cloud structures at multiple scattering angles within a narrow spectral bandpass centered at 265 nm. Spatial coverage is 100% above about 70° latitude, where camera views overlap from orbit to orbit, and terminates at about 82°. Spatial coverage decreases to about 50% at the lowest latitudes where data are collected (35°). Cloud structures have for the first time been mapped out over nearly the entire summertime polar region. These structures include ‘ice rings’, spatially small but bright clouds, and large regions (‘ice-free regions’) in the heart of the cloud season essentially devoid of ice particles. The ice rings bear a close resemblance to tropospheric convective outflow events, suggesting a point source of mesospheric convection. These rings (often circular arcs) are most likely Type IV NLC (‘whirls’ in the standard World Meteorological Organization (WMO) nomenclature).     

Noctilucent clouds seen at 60°N: origin and development

A noctilucent cloud is seen at a particular time from a specified place. The journey of the cloud particles from nucleation to observation can be calculated by using a simple model of growth and taking account of the fall speed of the cloud particles. Cloud particles can be backtracked by bringing together growth and fall speed equations and a model of mesospheric winds to find where the particles of a cloud seen at a particular time and place have originated. The wind model that is used here suggests that there is a distinct outer edge to the summertime polar circulation pattern in which water vapour is being carried up from the lower mesosphere to the mesopause. The change in latitude of this outer edge during the summer season may well account for the observed seasonal change in occurrence of mesospheric clouds. Polar mesospheric clouds cause a drying of the upper mesosphere. It is suggested here that diffusion of water vapour dumped at the level of polar mesospheric clouds will take an appreciable time to carry water vapour back up to the mesopause. In consequence, there will be a significant separation between the observed location of a noctilucent cloud and its precursor polar mesospheric cloud.     

Modeling the temperature of the polar mesopause region: Part I—Inter-annual and long-term variations generated by the stratospheric QBO

We present results from the Numerical Spectral Model (NSM), which focus on the temperature environment of the mesopause region where polar mesospheric clouds (PMC) form. The PMC occur in summer and are observed varying on time scales from months to years, and the NSM describes the dynamical processes that can generate the temperature variations involved. The NSM simulates the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), which dominates the zonal circulation of the lower stratosphere at equatorial latitudes. The modeled QBO extends into the upper mesosphere, due to gravity wave (GW) filtering, consistent with UARS zonal wind and TIMED temperature measurements. While the QBO zonal winds are confined to equatorial latitudes, the associated temperature variations extend to high latitudes. The meridional circulation redistributes the QBO energy—and the resulting temperature oscillations away from the equator produce inter-annual variations that can exceed 5 K in the polar mesopause region, with considerable differences between the two hemispheres. The NSM shows that the 30-month QBO produces a 5-year or semi-decadal (SD) oscillation, and stratospheric NCEP data provide observational evidence for that. This SD oscillation extends in the temperature to the upper mesosphere, where it could contribute to the long-term variations of the region.     

Responses of polar mesospheric cloud brightness to stratospheric gravity waves at the South Pole and Rothera,Antarctica

We present the first observational proof that polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) brightness responds to stratospheric gravity waves (GWs) differently at different latitudes by analyzing the Fe Boltzmann lidar data collected from the South Pole and Rothera (67.5°S, 68.0°W), Antarctica. Stratospheric GW strength is characterized by the root-mean-square (RMS) relative density perturbation in the 30–45 km region and PMC brightness is represented by the total backscatter coefficient (TBC) in austral summer from November to February. The linear correlation coefficient (LCC) between GW strength and PMC brightness is found to be +0.09 with a 42% confidence level at the South Pole and ?0.49 with a 98% confidence level at Rothera. If a PMC case potentially affected by a space shuttle exhaust plume is removed from the Rothera dataset, the negative correlation coefficient and confidence level increase to ?0.61 and 99%, respectively. The Rothera negative correlation increases when shorter-period waves are included while no change is observed in the South Pole correlation. Therefore, observations show statistically that Rothera PMC brightness is negatively correlated with the stratospheric GW strength but no significant correlation exists at the South Pole. A positive correlation of +0.74 with a confidence level of 99.98% is found within a distinct subset of the South Pole data but the rest of the dataset exhibits a random distribution, possibly indicating different populations of ice particles at the South Pole. Our data show that these two locations have similar GW strength and spectrum in the 30–45 km region during summer. The different responses of PMC brightness to GW perturbations are likely caused by the latitudinal differences in background temperatures in the ice crystal growth region between the PMC altitude and the mesopause. At Rothera, where temperatures in this region are relatively warm and supersaturations are not as large, GW-induced temperature perturbations can drive subsaturation in the warm phase. Thus, GWs can destroy growing ice crystals or limit their growth, leading to negative correlation at Rothera. Because the South Pole temperatures in the mesopause region are much colder, GW-perturbed temperature may never be above the frost point and have less of an impact on crystal growth and PMC brightness. The observed phenomena and proposed mechanisms above need to be understood and verified through future modeling of GW effects on PMC microphysics and ray modeling of GW propagation over the South Pole and Rothera.     

Latitudinal and longitudinal variability of mesospheric winds and temperatures during stratospheric warming events

Continuous MF and meteor radar observations allow detailed studies of winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) as well as temperatures around the mesopause. This height region is characterized by a strong variability in winter due to enhanced planetary wave activity and related stratospheric warming events, which are distinct coupling processes between lower, middle and upper atmosphere. Here the variability of mesospheric winds and temperatures is discussed in relation with major and minor stratospheric warmings as observed during winter 2005/06 in comparison with results during winter 1998/99.Our studies are based on MF radar wind measurements at Andenes (69°N, 16°E), Poker Flat (65°N, 147°W) and Juliusruh (55°N, 13°E) as well as on meteor radar observations of winds and temperatures at Resolute Bay (75°N, 95°W), Andenes (69°N, 16°E) and Kühlungsborn (54°N, 12°E). Additionally, energy dissipation rates have been estimated from spectral width measurements using a 3 MHz Doppler radar near Andenes. Particular attention is directed to the changes of winds, turbulence and the gravity wave activity in the mesosphere in relation to the planetary wave activity in the stratosphere.Observations indicate an enhancement of planetary wave 1 activity in the mesosphere at high latitudes during major stratospheric warmings. Daily mean temperatures derived from meteor decay times indicate that strong warming events are connected with a cooling of the 90 km region by about 10–20 K. The onset of these cooling processes and the reversals of the mesospheric circulation to easterly winds occur some days before the changes of the zonal circulation in the stratosphere start indicating a downward propagation of the circulation disturbances from the MLT region to the stratosphere and troposphere during the stratospheric warming events. The short-term reversal of the mesospheric winds is followed by a period of strong westerly winds connected with enhanced turbulence rates and an increase of gravity wave activity in the altitude range 70–85 km.     

Climatology of short-period mesospheric gravity waves over Halley,Antarctica (76°S, 27°W)

We present a first detailed climatological study of individual quasi-monochromatic mesospheric, short-period gravity-wave events observed over Antarctica. The measurements were made using an all-sky airglow imager located at Halley Station (76°S, 27°W) and encompass the 2000 and 2001 austral winter seasons. Distributions of wave parameters were found to be similar to findings at other latitudes. The wave headings exhibited unusually strong anisotropy with a dominant preference for motion towards the Antarctic continent and a rotation from westward during fall, to poleward in mid-winter, to eastward in spring. This rotation was accompanied by a systematic increase of ～50% in the magnitudes of the horizontal wavelengths and observed phase speeds. It is postulated that the observed wave anisotropy was due to a succession of wave sources of different characteristics lying equatorward of Halley, or a dominant source mechanism evolving with time during the winter months.     

Hydroxyl temperature and intensity measurements during noctilucent cloud displays

Two Fourier transform spectrometers have been used to investigate the properties of the near-infrared hydroxyl (OH) nightglow emission under high-latitude summertime conditions and any association with noctilucent clouds (NLCs). The measurements were made from Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska (65.1°N, 147.5°W), during August 1986. Simultaneous photographic observations of the northern twilight sky were made from Gulkana, Alaska (62.2°N, 145.5°W), approximately 340 km to the south to establish the presence of NLCs over the spectrometer site. Data exhibiting significant short-term variations in the relative intensity (as much as 50-100%) and rotational temperature (typically 5–15 K) were recorded on six occasions when NLCs were observed. Joint measurements were also obtained on several “cloud-free” nights. No obvious relationship was found linking the mean OH intensity or its variation with the occurrence of NLCs. However, a clear tendency was found for the mean OH temperature to be lower on NLC nights than on cloud-free nights. In particular, a significant fraction of the OH(3-1) band spectra recorded by each instrument (16-57%) exhibited temperatures below \sim154 K on NLC nights compared with <3% on cloud-free nights. This result is qualitatively consistent with current models for ice particle nucleation and growth, but the mean OH temperature on NLC nights (\sim156 K) was significantly higher than would be expected for long-term particle growth in this region. These observations raise questions concerning the expected proximity of the high-latitude, summertime OH layer and the NLC growth region.     

Noctilucent cloud in the western Arctic in 2005: Simultaneous lidar and camera observations and analysis

We report observations of a noctilucent cloud (NLC) over central Alaska by a ground-based lidar and camera on the night of 9–10 August 2005. The lidar at Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR), Chatanika (65°N, 147°W) measured a maximum integrated backscatter coefficient of 2.4×10^?6 sr^?1 with a peak backscatter coefficient of 2.6×10^?9 m^?1 sr^?1 corresponding to an aerosol backscatter ratio of 120 at an altitude of 82.1 km. The camera at Donnelly Dome, 168 km southeast of PFRR, recorded an extensive NLC display across the sky with distinct filamentary features corresponding to wave structures measured by the lidar. The occurrence of the maximum integrated backscatter coefficient corresponded to the passage of a bright cloud band to the southwest over PFRR. The camera observations indicate that the cloud band had a horizontal width of 50 km and a length of 150 km. The horizontal scale of the cloud band was confirmed by medium-frequency radar wind measurements that reported mesopause region winds of 30 m/s to the southwest during the period when the cloud band passed over PFRR. Comparison of these measurements with current NLC microphysical models suggests a lower bound on the water vapor mixing ratio at 83 km of 7–9 ppmv and a cloud ice mass of 1.5–1.8×10³ kg. Satellite measurements show that this NLC display occurred during a burst of cloud activity that began on 5 August and lasted for 10 days. This cloud appeared 10 days after a launch of the space shuttle. We discuss the appearance of NLCs in August over several years at this lower polar latitude site in terms of planetary wave activity and space shuttle launches.     

Long-term changes of (polar) mesosphere summer echoes

Strong VHF radar echoes have been observed not only during summer months at polar latitudes (polar mesosphere summer echoes, PMSE) but also at middle latitudes (mesosphere summer echoes, MSE). These echoes are closely connected with small ice particles, thus containing information about mesospheric temperature and water vapour content. But the (P)MSE also depend on the ionisation due to solar wave radiation and precipitating high energetic particles. Observations with VHF radars at Andenes (69.3°N; 16.0°E) since 1994 and at Kühlungsborn (54.6°N; 11.8°E) since 1998 are used for investigations of the solar and geomagnetic control of the (P)MSE as well as of possible long-term changes. The (P)MSE are positively correlated with the solar Lyman α radiation and the geomagnetic activity and have slightly positive trends. Due to the limited measuring period, the significance levels of the detected (P)MSE trends are small. Positive trends in noctilucent clouds (NLC) and polar mesospheric clouds (PMC) are in general agreement with (P)MSE trends.     

Advances in noctilucent cloud research in the space era

A summary of NLC research in the last two decades is presented. Results of NLC studies from the near-Earth space are discussed. It is shown that NLC can cover much larger territories than those estimated earlier and that there exists asymmetry in the coverage and also in the physical properties of NLC in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The mesopause often reveals a compelx multilayered structure. The pilot program of NLC research is discussed as a subprogram of the Middle Atmosphere Program and some vistas in NLC research are discussed.     

中间层顶变化的SABER/TIMED卫星观测

本文利用TIMED卫星搭载的SABER探测仪对全球中间层顶信息进行了研究,包括中间层顶的高度、温度及其季节和纬度变化,并对双中间层顶现象进行了分析.中间层顶的温度约在160～180K之间变化,高度在85～100km内变化,温度和高度都是冬季高夏季低,有着较为一致的变化趋势.中间层顶高纬呈现显著年变化,而低纬和赤道呈现弱的半年变化,南北半球的中间层顶信息有着不对称性.高纬地区的双中间层顶现象十分显著,中间层顶一般会从100km附近迅速降低至85km附近.根据长时间范围内平均的结果显示,北半球的双中间层顶现象在20°N—30°N的中纬范围开始发生,证实了北半球双中间层顶现象不再仅限于极区和中高纬地区.而南半球则仍是在50°S才显著发生双中间层顶现象.我们统计了中高纬地区夏季所有的单个观测剖面并且与当年冬季的平均背景剖面相比较,数据显示,较低的夏季第二中间层顶高度绝大多数比冬季中间层顶低12～16km.     

Coordinated optical and radar image measurements of noctilucent clouds and polar mesospheric summer echoes

Novel coincident 3-D radar, lidar and optical image measurements of dynamical structures in polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE) and noctilucent clouds (NLC) are presented. Common volume mesospheric measurements were made over central Alaska using the new Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR), a co-located Rayleigh lidar and remote, two-station digital image observations, enabling the first detailed investigation of the horizontal and vertical structures of NLC and PMSE. Coincident measurements were made of an unusual NLC display recorded on 10–11 August 2007, characterized by a broad luminous band that contained several prominent wave forms. Concurrent lidar and image measurements established the presence of NLC within the radar volume from ～09:00 UT (01:00 LT), when the solar depression angle was 10.4°, until dawn. Strong but intermittent PMSE were detected by PFISR, with distinct patchy structures that exhibited a similar southward motion as the NLC. Detailed comparison of the 3-D PMSE structures and the NLC lidar and image data have revealed striking similarities when account was taken of the NLC layer altitude, suggesting a direct link between their small-scale spatial signatures (within the current resolution of the radar measurements). At the same time, the lidar detected a sustained increase in the backscatter signal, while the imagers revealed the development of copious short horizontal wavelength (4.9 km) billow waves. We conclude that strong wind shears associated with the Kelvin–Helmholtz billow instabilities played a key role in the development of a neutral turbulence layer in close proximity to the NLC layer resulting in the strong but intermittent PMSE detected at 450 MHz on this occasion.     

Polar mesospheric clouds seen from geostationary orbit

The visible image data archived by EUMETSAT have been examined to discover if the whole-Earth images acquired from the geostationary meteorological satellite, METEOSAT, show polar mesospheric clouds above the limb. Images from the northern summer of 1995 show polar mesospheric clouds frequently in June and July at the highest visible latitude (81.3°N) and on occasion extending down as low as 65°N. A first-look at days through the summer shows that there is no marked forward-scatter of sunlight from the clouds and that it is possible to choose times of day throughout the year when there will be no interference to the detection of polar mesospheric clouds from ghost images of the Sun or from light scattered in the optical system of the radiometer. With over 20 years of data in the archive, available for both northern and southern hemispheres, taken under controlled conditions, studies of the climatology of polar mesospheric clouds can develop significantly.     

First results on daytime mesopause OH rotational temperatures using ground-based photometry from equatorial latitudes

Daytime mesospheric OH , rotational temperatures were estimated from the measurements of the relative intensities of the rotational lines in the same vibrational band, using the unique multiwavelength daytime photometer, from Tirunelveli (8.7°N; 77.8°E; 0.5°N dip latitude), an equatorial station in the Indian zone. On a couple of days when simultaneous measurements were available in the vicinity of the experimental site, the estimated temperatures compared well with those measured by the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) onboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). These results, the first of their kind, revealed: (1) large day-to-day variabilities; (2) oscillatory features with periodicities ranging from 0.5 to 6 h; and (3) large deviations of ±30–50 K, on occasions, from the MSIS-90 model temperatures. Comparisons have also been made with simultaneous measurements of neutral winds around mesopause altitudes using the Partial Reflection radar from the same site to look for any possible association of neutral dynamical parameters with the mesopause temperature variabilities. These results are presented and discussed.     

西北太平洋热带气旋活动影响区域大尺度环流的数值模拟研究

本文利用"模式手术"方法研究了西北太平洋热带气旋(TC)对东亚—西北太平洋区域大尺度环流的影响.结果表明,夏季频繁的西北太平洋TC活动导致东亚夏季风增强,季风槽加深;西太平洋副热带高压东退,位置偏北;东亚副热带高空急流强度增强,北太平洋(东亚大陆)上急流轴偏北(偏南);热带地区(副热带地区)的对流层中低层出现异常上升气流(下沉气流),并且从低纬向高纬呈现异常上升气流和异常下沉气流交替分布特征.在中国东南沿海,TC降水导致夏季降水量明显增加;而在长江中下游和华北地区,TC活动引起的异常下沉气流使夏季降水量显著减少.因此,夏季西北太平洋TC活动对东亚—西北太平洋区域气候有显著影响.     

Effects of solar proton events in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere region according to the data of meteo radar wind measurements at high and middle latitudes

Data from meteo radar measurements of the wind in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere region at high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere (Molodezhnaya station, 68° S, 45° E) and at middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (Obninsk station, 55° N, 37° E) during solar proton events that took place in 1989, 1991, 2000, 2005, and 2012 are analyzed in the paper. In 1989 and 1991, we succeeded in observing the response to solar proton evens at both stations simultaneously. The results show that solar proton events lead to a change in the wind regime of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. At high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, significant changes are observed in the values of the velocities of the meridional and zonal components of the prevailing wind. In the case of powerful solar proton events, the amplitude of the semidiurnal tide grows in the vicinity of the proton flux maximum. The response to these events depends on the season. The reaction of the prevailing wind at middle latitudes shows the same features as the reaction of the wind at high latitudes. However no unambiguous response of the tide amplitude is observed. In the summer season, even powerful events (for example, in July 2000) cause no changes in the wind regime parameters in the midlatitude region of the mesosphere/lower thermosphere.     

Solar eclipse of the 29 March 2006: Results of the optical measurements by MORTI over Almaty (43.03°N, 76.58°E)

The observations of the upper mesosphere region (∼95 km altitude) in the period of 27–30 March 2006 using mesopause oxygen rotational temperature imager (MORTI) at Almaty (43.03°N, 76.58°E) are presented in this report to illustrate the mesosphere response to the solar eclipse (SE) event, which occurred on 29 March 2006. The nighttime volume emission rates and rotational temperatures, obtained from MORTI measurements, show appreciable differences in the pattern of wave-like oscillations observed during the period of interest. These oscillations are possibly due to the SE. Using a periodogram method the spectra of the observed wave-like oscillations, observed in the mesosphere, are examined. A physical mechanism is proposed to interpret the effects observed in terms of the mesosphere response to the total SE.     

Modeling the Effect of Mesospheric Internal Gravity Waves in the Thermosphere and Ionosphere During the 2009 Sudden Stratospheric Warming

The results of numerical experiments on the modeling of thermospheric and ionospheric disturbances under conditions of sudden stratospheric warming are presented to study the possible mechanisms of such disturbances. Local disturbances caused by a planetary wave with zonal wave number s = 1 and internal gravity waves (IGWs) propagating from the disturbed region in the stratosphere are taken into account as sources of disturbances. It is shown that the inclusion of an additional source of thermospheric disturbances caused by mesospheric variations of atmospheric parameters with IGW periods over the region of sudden stratospheric warming leads to significant changes in the parameters of the thermosphere and ionosphere, including a change in the global structure of the distributions of the gas components of the thermosphere and a shift in maximum concentrations of atomic oxygen to low latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere; there is an increase in the mean values, the diurnal and semidiurnal variations of the ion concentration in the F region of the ionosphere. These features of changes in the parameters of the thermosphere and ionosphere occurred with insignificant disturbances of tidal variations in the thermosphere.