scholarly journals Gravity wave activity in the troposphere and lower stratosphere: An observational study of seasonal and interannual variations

2013 ◽  
Vol 118 (19) ◽  
pp. 11,352-11,359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongfu Wu ◽  
Wei Yuan ◽  
Jiyao Xu
Keyword(s):  
Observational Study ◽  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Interannual Variations ◽  
Seasonal And Interannual Variations

scholarly journals Propagation paths and source distributions of resolved gravity waves in ECMWF-IFS analysis fields around the southern polar night jet

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (24) ◽  
pp. 18641-18668
Author(s):  
Cornelia Strube ◽  
Peter Preusse ◽  
Manfred Ern ◽  
Martin Riese
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Lateral Shift ◽  
Apparent Lack ◽  
Wave Ray ◽  
Propagation Paths ◽  
Wave Momentum

Abstract. In the southern winter polar stratosphere, the distribution of gravity wave momentum flux in many state-of-the-art climate simulations is inconsistent with long-time satellite and superpressure balloon observations around 60∘ S. Recent studies hint that a lateral shift between prominent gravity wave sources in the tropospheric mid-latitudes and the location where gravity wave activity is present in the stratosphere causes at least part of the discrepancy. This lateral shift cannot be represented by the column-based gravity wave drag parameterisations used in most general circulation models. However, recent high-resolution analysis and re-analysis products of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Integrated Forecast System (ECMWF-IFS) show good agreement with the observations and allow for a detailed investigation of resolved gravity waves, their sources, and propagation paths. In this paper, we identify resolved gravity waves in the ECMWF-IFS analyses for a case of high gravity wave activity in the lower stratosphere using small-volume sinusoidal fits to characterise these gravity waves. The 3D wave vector together with perturbation amplitudes, wave frequency, and a fully described background atmosphere are then used to initialise the Gravity Wave Regional or Global Ray Tracer (GROGRAT) gravity wave ray tracer and follow the gravity waves backwards from the stratosphere. Finally, we check for the indication of source processes on the path of each ray and, thus, quantitatively attribute gravity waves to sources that are represented within the model. We find that stratospheric gravity waves are indeed subject to far (>1000 km) lateral displacement from their sources, which already take place at low altitudes (<20 km). Various source processes can be linked to waves within stratospheric gravity wave (GW) patterns, such as the orography equatorward of 50∘ S and non-orographic sources above the Southern Ocean. These findings may explain why superpressure balloons observe enhanced gravity wave momentum fluxes in the lower stratosphere over the Southern Ocean despite an apparent lack of sources at this latitude. Our results also support the need to improve gravity wave parameterisations to account for meridional propagation.

scholarly journals Studies on atmospheric gravity wave activity in the troposphere and lower stratosphere over a tropical station at Gadanki

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 3237-3260 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. V. Subba Reddy ◽  
D. Narayana Rao ◽  
A. Narendra Babu ◽  
M. Venkat Ratnam ◽  
P. Kishore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Wave Length ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Wind Fields ◽  
Atmospheric Gravity Wave ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Atmospheric Gravity

Abstract. MST radars are powerful tools to study the mesosphere, stratosphere and troposphere and have made considerable contributions to the studies of the dynamics of the upper, middle and lower atmosphere. Atmospheric gravity waves play a significant role in controlling middle and upper atmospheric dynamics. To date, frontal systems, convection, wind shear and topography have been thought to be the sources of gravity waves in the troposphere. All these studies pointed out that it is very essential to understand the generation, propagation and climatology of gravity waves. In this regard, several campaigns using Indian MST Radar observations have been carried out to explore the gravity wave activity over Gadanki in the troposphere and the lower stratosphere. The signatures of the gravity waves in the wind fields have been studied in four seasons viz., summer, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter. The large wind fluctuations were more prominent above 10 km during the summer and monsoon seasons. The wave periods are ranging from 10 min-175 min. The power spectral densities of gravity waves are found to be maximum in the stratospheric region. The vertical wavelength and the propagation direction of gravity waves were determined using hodograph analysis. The results show both down ward and upward propagating waves with a maximum vertical wave length of 3.3 km. The gravity wave associated momentum fluxes show that long period gravity waves carry more momentum flux than the short period waves and this is presented.

Planetary and gravity wave activity in the equatorial lower stratosphere as seen by ultra-long duration balloons

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1381-1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hertzog ◽  
F. Vial ◽  
C.R. Mechoso ◽  
C. Basdevant ◽  
P. Cocquerez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Long Duration

scholarly journals Measurements of gravity wave activity in the lower stratosphere by Doppler lidar

2001 ◽  
Vol 106 (D8) ◽  
pp. 7879-7890 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hertzog ◽  
C. Souprayen ◽  
A. Hauchecorne
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Doppler Lidar

scholarly journals A decadal satellite record of gravity wave activity in the lower stratosphere to study polar stratospheric cloud formation

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 2901-2920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Hoffmann ◽  
Reinhold Spang ◽  
Andrew Orr ◽  
M. Joan Alexander ◽  
Laura A. Holt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Michelson Interferometer ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Right

Abstract. Atmospheric gravity waves yield substantial small-scale temperature fluctuations that can trigger the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). This paper introduces a new satellite record of gravity wave activity in the polar lower stratosphere to investigate this process. The record is comprised of observations of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite from January 2003 to December 2012. Gravity wave activity is measured in terms of detrended and noise-corrected 15 µm brightness temperature variances, which are calculated from AIRS channels that are the most sensitive to temperature fluctuations at about 17–32 km of altitude. The analysis of temporal patterns in the data set revealed a strong seasonal cycle in wave activity with wintertime maxima at mid- and high latitudes. The analysis of spatial patterns indicated that orography as well as jet and storm sources are the main causes of the observed waves. Wave activity is closely correlated with 30 hPa zonal winds, which is attributed to the AIRS observational filter. We used the new data set to evaluate explicitly resolved temperature fluctuations due to gravity waves in the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational analysis. It was found that the analysis reproduces orographic and non-orographic wave patterns in the right places, but that wave amplitudes are typically underestimated by a factor of 2–3. Furthermore, in a first survey of joint AIRS and Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) satellite observations, nearly 50 gravity-wave-induced PSC formation events were identified. The survey shows that the new AIRS data set can help to better identify such events and more generally highlights the importance of the process for polar ozone chemistry.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document