The criterion of gravity wave instability induced by photochemistry in summer polar mesopause region

This paper studies the effect of photochemistry on the gravity wave instability in summer polar mesopause region. The calculation method of the effects of eddy viscosity, conductivity and eddy diffusion of chemical species on the gravity wave instability induced by photochemistry are studied. The critical wavelength of the instability is given in this paper. The influences of some parameters on it are discussed. The study shows that the gravity wave instability induced by photochemistry is sensitive to the temperature and atomic oxygen profiles.     

Physics and chemistry of the mesopause region

This paper is based on a tutorial presentation given at the 2001 CEDAR (Coupling Energetics and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) workshop. It gives an overview of chemical and physical processes important in the mesopause region. Topics covered include composition, photochemistry, dynamics and transport, and energy budget. Special emphasis is placed on the role of variations in composition in linking the physical and chemical processes. Examples from numerical models and observations are given to illustrate the points. Two specific cases where composition plays a role are described. The first illustrates that hemispheric differences in CO₂ due to transport by the mean circulation enhance the mesopause temperature extremes near solstices. The second shows how transport of chemical species by gravity waves can alter the heating structure in such a way as to destabilize the gravity wave.     

中层顶区域钾层静态模型的初步建立

以流星烧蚀为源, 大气沉降为汇, 并利用连续方程和涡旋扩散方程为动力学控制方程, 求解总含钾成分随高度的分布, 再根据各含钾成分之间闭合的化学反应, 计算每个高度处各含钾成分的浓度配比, 初步建立了一个钾层静态模型.本文详细的阐述了钾层静态模型的建立过程, 输入参数和模拟结果.此模型能够模拟出钾原子浓度随高度的分布, 并与北京激光雷达观测的钾原子浓度的夜间年平均曲线进行了对比.钾层峰值密度和质心高度的模拟值与观测值仅相差0.2%和0.7%, 但柱密度和RMS宽度的模拟值却比观测值明显偏小.模拟结果与观测并不完全一致, 其差别主要来自于钾层的下部.钾层静态模型的建立和不断完善为研究钾层的特性和演化规律提供了有力的支撑.

     

First HF radar measurements of summer mesopause echoes at SURA

HF sounding of the mesosphere was first carried out at SURA in summer 1994 at frequencies in the range 8–9 MHz using one of the sub-arrays of the SURA heating facility. The observations had a range resolution of 3 km. Almost all measurements indicated the presence of strong radar returns from altitudes between 83 and 90 km with features very similar to VHP measurements of mesopause summer echoes at mid-latitudes and polar mesopause summer echoes. In contrast to VHP observations, HF mesopause echoes are almost always present.     

Semidiurnal thermal tide in the mesopause region over Yakutia

The study is based on measuring fluctuations of the intensity and rotational temperatures of the molecular emissions of hydroxyl OH(6,2) and the first atmospheric band of oxygen O₂(0–1), excited at approximately 87 and 95 km, respectively. The measurements are conducted at Maimaga station (63°N, 129.5°E), located 150 km north of Yakutsk. The semidiurnal tide parameters were obtained using the database compiled from 1999 to 2005. The data obtained from October to March were analyzed. The measurements conducted during 214 nights were used to determine the semidiurnal tide parameters. The wave amplitude at the height of the molecular oxygen emission (～95 km) is 8 K, which is larger than the amplitude at the height of the hydroxyl emission (～87 km) by approximately 2 K. Except November, the 12-h oscillation at the height of molecular oxygen excitation leads the oscillation at the height of hydroxyl excitation. On average, the phase is ～5.7 h at the OH emission height and ～6.4 h at the O₂ emission height. We note that an abrupt increase in the tide amplitude in March at the molecular oxygen height can be related to a seasonal decrease in the so-called “wave” turbopause height.     

Application of tomographic inversion in studying airglow in the mesopause region

It is pointed out that observations of periodic nightglow structures give excellent information on atmospheric gravity waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The periods, the horizontal wavelengths and the phase speeds of the waves can be determined from airglow images and, using several cameras, the approximate altitude of the luminous layer can also be determined by triangulation. In this paper the possibility of applying tomographic methods for reconstructing the airglow structures is investigated using numerical simulations. A ground-based chain of cameras is assumed, two-dimensional airglow models in the vertical plane above the chain are constructed, and simulated data are calculated by integrating the models along a great number of rays with different elevation angles for each camera. After addition of random noise, these data are then inverted to obtain reconstructions of the models. A tomographic analysis package originally designed for satellite radiotomography is used in the inversion. The package is based on a formulation of stochastic inversion which allows the input of a priori information to the solver in terms of regularization variances. The reconstruction is carried out in two stages. In the first inversion, constant regularization variances are used within a wide altitude range. The results are used in determining the approximate altitude range of the airglow structures. Then, in the second inversion, constant non-zero regularization variances are used inside this region and zero variances outside it. With this method reliable reconstructions of the models are obtained. The number of cameras as well as their separations are varied in order to find out the limitations of the method.     

VHF radar observations of turbulent structures in the polar mesopause region

The mobile SOUSY VHF Radar was operated in the summer of 1987 during the MAC/SINE campaign in northern Norway to study the polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE). Measurements of the spectral width indicate that two types of structures occur. In general mesospheric layers are bifurcated exhibiting a narrow spectral width and a well-defined aspect sensitivity. However, for about 10% of the observation time cells of enhanced turbulence characterized by extremely broad spectral widths appear predominantly in the upper sublayer above 86 km. Identification and separation of beam and shear broadening allows a determination of the turbulence-induced component of the spectral width. This case study reveals that during several events these cloud-like structures of enhanced turbulence move with an apparent velocity of several tens of meters per second which is almost identical with the phase trace velocity of simultaneously observed waves. Since, at that time, the Richardson number was less than a quarter, it was concluded that these turbulent cells were generated by a Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism. The horizontal extent of these structures was calculated to be less than 40 km. A general relation between spectral width and echo power was not detected. The turbulent component of the spectral width was used to calculate typical values of the energy dissipation rate at times where narrow spectral width dominates and during periods of enhanced turbulence. In addition, the outer scale of the inertial subrange (buoyancy scale) was estimated. For the first time the occurrence and motion of this type of structures of enhanced spectral width is analyzed and discussed in detail.     

The loss of photochemical heating caused by gravity waves in the mesopause region

The influence of gravity waves on photochemical heating in the mesopause region is studied in this paper. The results indicate that gravity waves can cause a loss of photochemical heating in the region of the mesopause. The influences of the variation of background temperature and of atomic oxygen density on the loss of photochemical heating induced by gravity waves are discussed. The results indicate that, as background temperature decreases, or as the background atomic oxygen density increases, the gravity wave induced loss of photochemical heating increases and the ratio between it and the background photochemical heating rate also increases.     

Temperature variations in the mesopause region according to the hydroxyl-emission observations at midlatitudes

The seasonal temperature variations in the mesopause region and the inter-day and nighttime temperature variability, the measure of which is standard deviations, have been studied based on the hydroxyl emission spectral observations at the Zvenigorod station of the Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics in 2000–2011 and Institute of Solar Terrestrial Physics geophysical station (Tory) in 2008–2011. The long-term variations in all temperature variability parameters have been analyzed.     

廊坊地区中间层顶钠原子垂直动力学输送特征观测分析

利用中科院国家空间科学中心廊坊观测站(40.0°N, 116.3°E)钠荧光多普勒激光雷达观测数据对钠原子的重力波输送和湍流输送进行分析, 利用流星雷达观测数据对钠原子的环流输送进行分析, 结果显示重力波动力学输送、重力波化学输送、湍流混合输送及环流输送对钠原子输送贡献的量级相当.其中重力波动力学输送在85~100 km整体为负向, 在90~95 km占主要地位的平均输送速度为-3.1 cm·s-1; 重力波化学输送在85~94 km为正向, 94~100 km基本为负向, 在85~90 km占主要地位的平均输送速度为3.3 cm·s-1; 湍流混合输送在85~95 km为负向, 95~100 km为正向, 在85~90 km占主要地位的平均输送速度为-4.9 cm·s-1; 85~100 km环流输送整体为正向, 平均输送速度为1 cm·s-1.88~95 km四种动力学输送产生的平均合速度为-1 cm·s-1, 负向的垂直输送特征对钠原子"源""汇"平衡十分重要.本文结果可为不同大气圈层之间重力波产生的能量物质交换机制研究和圈层之间的耦合过程研究提供观测事实参考, 为大气化学成分的垂直输送机制建模提供参数化依据.     

Lidar study of the characteristics of gravity waves in the mesopause region at a southern low-latitude location

Using the technique developed by Gardner and Voelz [1987. Lidar studies of the nighttime sodium layer over Urbana, Illinois, 2. Gravity waves. Journal of Geophysical Research 92, 4673–4693] and a new method proposed by us, two groups of gravity wave parameters are extracted from 11 years sodium lidar measurements made at a southern low-latitude location. The wave occurrence frequencies, wave parameter distributions, and wave parameter relationships are given and compared with other lidar observations. The different lidar derived results can be attributed to different atmospheric parameters. The characteristics of these two groups of gravity waves are also compared, as well as that predicted by diffusive filtering theory, and we find the gravity wave relationships derived from our method are in better agreement with diffusive filtering theory predictions.     

The regular nocturnal course of temperature in the midlatitude mesopause region according to hydroxyl airglow measurements

Using ground-based spectral measurements in the near-infrared range at the Zvenigorod scientific station of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (56° N, 37° E) for 2000–2013, we obtained average nighttime changes in rotational and vibrational temperatures of hydroxyl with its emission layer localized at mesopause heights. The rotational temperature reflects the kinetic temperature of the emission layer of the atmosphere. The analysis made it possible to determine the characteristics of the first three harmonics of diurnal temperature dynamics in the mesopause region both with and without altitudinal oscillations of the OH emission layer. In both cases, the second and third harmonics are statistically significant: their amplitudes are ～1 K and the phases of their first maxima are near 0300 and 0130 local solar time.     

Comparison of ground-based and satellite measurements of atmospheric temperature in the mesopause region in high-latitude eastern Siberia

The mesopause kinetic temperature at an altitude of 87 km measured with a SABER broadband radiometer installed on the TIMED satellite and the hydroxyl molecule rotational temperature measured with a ground-spectrograph installed in high-latitude eastern Siberia (Maimaga optical station; φ = 63°N, λ = 129.5°E) are compared. The data of the observations performed from 2002 to 2006 have been analyzed. The temperatures measured during the satellite passes at distances not larger than 300 km from the intersection of the spectrograph sighting line with the hydroxyl emitting layer (∼87 km) have been compared. An analysis of 130 cases of coincident measurements indicated that the average hydroxyl molecule rotational temperatures are systematically lower than the average kinetic temperature at an altitude of the hydroxyl layer measured with SABER by 4.4 K (with a standard deviation of 11.4 K). A seasonal dependence is observed regarding the difference between the ground-based and satellite measurements. The difference decreases from 10 K in January to zero towards March. However, the time variations in the temperature obtained with the ground-based device and on the satellite are similar. Based on the performed analysis, it has been concluded that a series of hydroxyl rotational temperatures can be used to study temperature variations on different time scales, including long-term trends at the temperature emission altitude (∼87 km).