scholarly journals Upper mesospheric lunar tides over middle and high latitudes during sudden stratospheric warming events

2015 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 3084-3096 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Chau ◽  
P. Hoffmann ◽  
N. M. Pedatella ◽  
V. Matthias ◽  
G. Stober
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shima Bahramvash Shams ◽  
Von P. Walden ◽  
James W. Hannigan ◽  
William J. Randel ◽  
Irina V. Petropavlovskikh ◽  
...  

Abstract. Stratospheric circulation is a critical part of the Arctic ozone cycle. Sudden stratospheric warming events (SSWs) manifest the strongest alteration of stratospheric dynamics. Changes in planetary wave propagation vigorously influence zonal mean zonal wind, temperature, and tracer concentrations in the stratosphere over the high latitudes. In this study, we examine six major SSWs from 2004 to 2020 using the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2). Using the unique density of observations around the Greenland sector at high latitudes, we perform comprehensive comparisons of high latitude observations with the MERRA-2 ozone dataset during the six major SSWs. Our results show that MERRA-2 captures the high variability of mid stratospheric ozone fluctuations during SSWs over high latitudes. However, larger uncertainties are observed in the lower stratosphere and troposphere. The zonally averaged stratospheric ozone shows a dramatic increase of 9–29 % in total column ozone (TCO) near the time of each SSW, which lasts up to two months. The SSWs exhibit a more significant impact on ozone over high northern latitudes when the polar vortex is mostly elongated as seen in 2009 and 2018 compared to the events in which the polar vortex is displaced towards Europe. The regional impact of SSWs over Greenland has a similar structure as the zonal average, however, exhibits more intense ozone anomalies which is reflected by 15–37 % increase in TCO. The influence of SSW on mid stratospheric ozone levels persists longer than their impact on temperature. This paper is focused on the increased (suppressed) wave activity before (after) the SSWs and their impact on ozone variability at high latitudes. This includes an investigation of the different terms of tracer continuity using MERRA-2 parameters, which emphasizes the key role of vertical advection on mid-stratospheric ozone during the SSWs.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarique A. Siddiqui ◽  
Astrid Maute ◽  
Nick Pedatella ◽  
Yosuke Yamazaki ◽  
Hermann Lühr ◽  
...  

Abstract. The variabilities of the semidiurnal solar and lunar tide of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) are investigated during the 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2013 major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events in this study. For this purpose, the ground-magnetometer recordings at the equatorial observatories in Huancayo and Fuquene are utilized. Results show a major enhancement in the amplitude of the EEJ semidiurnal lunar tide in each of the four warming events. The EEJ semidiurnal solar tidal amplitude shows an amplification prior to the onset of warmings, a reduction during the deceleration of the zonal mean zonal wind at 60° N and 10 hPa and a second enhancement a few days after the peak reversal of the zonal mean zonal wind during all the four SSWs. Results also reveal that the amplitude of the EEJ semidiurnal lunar tide becomes comparable or even greater than the amplitude of the EEJ semidiurnal solar tide during all these warming events. The present study also compares the EEJ semidiurnal solar and lunar tidal changes with numerical simulations of the variability of the migrating semidiurnal solar (SW2) and lunar (M2) tide in neutral temperature at ~ 120 km altitude. A better agreement between the enhancements of the EEJ semidiurnal lunar tide and the M2 tide in neutral temperature is observed in comparison with the enhancements of the EEJ semidiurnal solar tide and the SW2 tide in neutral temperature.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangyu Liu ◽  
Toshihiko Hirooka ◽  
Nawo Eguchi ◽  
Kirstin Krüger

Abstract. This study analyzes the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis (JRA-55) dataset from 2002 to 2019 to examine the sudden stratospheric warming event that occurred in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) in 2019 (hereafter referred to as SSW2019). Strong warming at the polar cap and decelerated westerly winds were observed, but since there was no reversal of westerly winds to easterly winds at 60° S in the middle to lower stratosphere, the SSW2019 is classified as a minor warming event. The results show that quasi-stationary planetary waves of zonal wavenumber 1 developed during the SSW2019. The strong vertical component of the Eliassen–Palm flux with zonal wavenumber 1 is indicative of pronounced propagation of planetary waves to the stratosphere. The wave driving in September 2019 shows that the values are larger than those of the major SSW event in 2002 (hereafter referred to as SSW2002). Since there was no pronounced preconditioning (as in SSW2002) and the polar vortex was already strong before the SSW2019 occurred, a major disturbance of the polar vortex was unlikely to have taken place. The strong wave driving in SSW2019 occurred in high latitudes. Waveguides (i.e., positive values of the refractive index) are found at high latitudes in the upper stratosphere during the warming period, which provided favorable conditions for quasi-stationary planetary waves to propagate upward and poleward.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaxian Li ◽  
Gang Chen

<p>We present an analysis of the perturbations and wave characteristics in equatorial electrojet (EEJ) and equatorial zonal winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region during three sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events, based on the wind observations by two meteor radars in Indonesia and the geomagnetic field observations in India. During three SSWs, the shifting semidiurnal perturbations are consistently observed in the EEJ and accompanied with strong 2-day periodic perturbations simultaneously. The semidiurnal lunar (L2) tidal amplitudes in the EEJ and zonal winds show the prominent enhancements during the episodes of EEJ perturbations. The time-period spectra of the L2 tidal amplitudes in both the EEJ and zonal winds present the obvious quasi-2-day wave (QTDW) amplification with good agreement during these periods. Our results firstly reveal the important contributions of QTDW to EEJ perturbations during SSWs and the semidiurnal lunar tides modulated by QTDW serve as the main forcing agent therein</p>


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 32391-32422 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Scheiben ◽  
C. Straub ◽  
K. Hocke ◽  
P. Forkman ◽  
N. Kämpfer

Abstract. A major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) occurred in the Northern Hemisphere in January 2010. The warming started on 26 January 2010, was most pronounced by the end of January and was accompanied by a polar vortex shift towards Europe. After the warming, the polar vortex split into two weaker vortices. The zonal mean temperature in the polar upper stratosphere (35–45 km) increased by approximately 25 K in a few days, while there was a decrease in temperature in the lower stratosphere and mesosphere. Local temperature maxima were around 325 K in the upper stratosphere and minima around 175 and 155 K in the lower stratosphere and mesosphere, respectively. In this study, we present middle atmospheric water vapor and ozone measurements obtained by a meridional chain of European ground-based microwave radiometers in Bern (47° N), Onsala (57° N) and Sodankylä (67° N). The instruments in Bern and Onsala are part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). Effects of the SSW were observed at all three locations and we perform a combined analysis in order to reveal transport processes in the middle atmosphere above Europe during the SSW event. Further we investigate the chemical and dynamical influences of the SSW event. We find that the anomalies during the warming in water vapor and ozone were different for each location. A few days before the beginning of the major SSW, we observed a decrease in mesospheric water vapor above Bern, which we attribute to movement of the mesospheric polar vortex towards Central Europe. The most prominent H2O anomaly observed in Bern was an increase in stratospheric water vapor during the warming. In Onsala and Sodankylä, mesospheric water vapor increased within a few days during the warming and slowly decreased afterwards. Upper stratospheric ozone decreased during the warming over Bern by approximately 30% and by approximately 20% over Onsala. Over Sodankylä, a decrease in ozone below 30 km altitude was observed. This decrease is assumed to be caused by heterogeneous chemistry on polar stratospheric clouds. After the SSW, stratospheric ozone increased to higher levels than before at all three locations. The observed anomalies are explained by a trajectory analysis with reanalysis data from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Most of the observed anomalies in water vapor and ozone during the warming are attributed to the location of the polar vortex, depending on whether a measurement site was inside or outside the polar vortex. The observed increase in mesospheric water vapor at high latitudes is explained by advection of relatively moist air from lower latitudes, whereas the observed increase in stratospheric water vapor at midlatitudes is explained by advection from high latitudes, i.e. from the moist stratospheric polar vortex.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. A39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxim V. Klimenko ◽  
Vladimir V. Klimenko ◽  
Fedor S. Bessarab ◽  
Timofei V. Sukhodolov ◽  
Pavel A. Vasilev ◽  
...  

We apply the Entire Atmosphere GLobal (EAGLE) model to investigate the upper atmosphere response to the January 2009 sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event. The model successfully reproduces neutral temperature and total electron content (TEC) observations. Using both model and observational data, we identify a cooling in the tropical lower thermosphere caused by the SSW. This cooling affects the zonal electric field close to the equator, leading to an enhanced vertical plasma drift. We demonstrate that along with a SSW-related wind disturbance, which is the main source to form a dynamo electric field in the ionosphere, perturbations of the ionospheric conductivity also make a significant contribution to the formation of the electric field response to SSW. The post-sunset TEC enhancement and pre-sunrise electron content reduction are revealed as a response to the 2009 SSW. We show that at post-sunset hours the SSW affects low-latitude TEC via a disturbance of the meridional electric field. We also show that the phase change of the semidiurnal migrating solar tide (SW2) in the neutral wind caused by the 2009 SSW at the altitude of the dynamo electric field generation has a crucial importance for the SW2 phase change in the zonal electric field. Such changes lead to the appearance of anomalous diurnal variability of the equatorial electromagnetic plasma drift and subsequent low-latitudinal TEC disturbances in agreement with available observations. Plain Language Summary – Entire Atmosphere GLobal model (EAGLE) interactively calculates the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and plasmasphere–ionosphere system states and their response to various natural and anthropogenic forcing. In this paper, we study the upper atmosphere response to the major sudden stratospheric warming that occurred in January 2009. Our results agree well with the observed evolution of the neutral temperature in the upper atmosphere and with low-latitude ionospheric disturbances over America. For the first time, we identify an SSW-related cooling in the tropical lower thermosphere that, in turn, could provide additional information for understanding the mechanisms for the generation of electric field disturbances observed at low latitudes. We show that the SSW-related vertical electromagnetic drift due to electric field disturbances is a key mechanism for interpretation of an observed anomalous diurnal development of the equatorial ionization anomaly during the 2009 SSW event. We demonstrate that the link between thermospheric winds and the ionospheric dynamo electric field during the SSW is attained through the modulation of the semidiurnal migrating solar tide.


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