scholarly journals Secular variations of atomic oxygen in the mesopause region induced by transient gravity wave packets

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (21) ◽  
pp. 3599-3602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Hickey ◽  
Richard L. Walterscheid ◽  
Philip G. Richards
2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 1316-1324 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.-D. Zhang ◽  
F. Yi ◽  
J.-F. Wang

Abstract. By analyzing the results of the numerical simulations of nonlinear propagation of three Gaussian gravity-wave packets in isothermal atmosphere individually, the nonlinear effects on the characteristics of gravity waves are studied quantitatively. The analyses show that during the nonlinear propagation of gravity wave packets the mean flows are accelerated and the vertical wavelengths show clear reduction due to nonlinearity. On the other hand, though nonlinear effects exist, the time variations of the frequencies of gravity wave packets are close to those derived from the dispersion relation and the amplitude and phase relations of wave-associated disturbance components are consistent with the predictions of the polarization relation of gravity waves. This indicates that the dispersion and polarization relations based on the linear gravity wave theory can be applied extensively in the nonlinear region.Key words: Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; waves and tides)


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 877-908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corwin J. Wright ◽  
Neil P. Hindley ◽  
Andrew C. Moss ◽  
Nicholas J. Mitchell

Abstract. Gravity waves in the terrestrial atmosphere are a vital geophysical process, acting to transport energy and momentum on a wide range of scales and to couple the various atmospheric layers. Despite the importance of these waves, the many studies to date have often exhibited very dissimilar results, and it remains unclear whether these differences are primarily instrumental or methodological. Here, we address this problem by comparing observations made by a diverse range of the most widely used gravity-wave-resolving instruments in a common geographic region around the southern Andes and Drake Passage, an area known to exhibit strong wave activity. Specifically, we use data from three limb-sounding radiometers (Microwave Limb Sounder, MLS-Aura; HIgh Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder, HIRDLS; Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry, SABER), the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) GPS-RO constellation, a ground-based meteor radar, the Advanced Infrared Sounder (AIRS) infrared nadir sounder and radiosondes to examine the gravity wave potential energy (GWPE) and vertical wavelengths (λz) of individual gravity-wave packets from the lower troposphere to the edge of the lower thermosphere ( ∼  100 km). Our results show important similarities and differences. Limb sounder measurements show high intercorrelation, typically  > 0.80 between any instrument pair. Meteor radar observations agree in form with the limb sounders, despite vast technical differences. AIRS and radiosonde observations tend to be uncorrelated or anticorrelated with the other data sets, suggesting very different behaviour of the wave field in the different spectral regimes accessed by each instrument. Evidence of wave dissipation is seen, and varies strongly with season. Observed GWPE for individual wave packets exhibits a log-normal distribution, with short-timescale intermittency dominating over a well-repeated monthly-median seasonal cycle. GWPE and λz exhibit strong correlations with the stratospheric winds, but not with local surface winds. Our results provide guidance for interpretation and intercomparison of such data sets in their full context.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Song ◽  
Martin Kaufmann ◽  
Jörn Ungermann ◽  
Manfred Ern ◽  
Guang Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract. Gravity waves (GWs) play an important role in atmospheric dynamics. Especially in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) dissipating GWs provide a major contribution to the driving of the global wind system. Therefore global observations of GWs in the MLT region are of particular interest. The small scales of GWs, however, pose a major problem for the observation of GWs from space. We propose a new observation strategy for GWs in the mesopause region by combining limb and sub-limb satellite-borne remote sensing measurements for improving the spatial resolution of temperatures that are retrieved from atmospheric soundings. In our study, we simulate satellite observations of the rotational structure of the O2 A-band nightglow. A key element of the new method is the ability of the instrument or the satellite to operate in so called target mode, i.e. to stare at a particular point in the atmosphere and collect radiances at different viewing angles. These multi-angle measurements of a selected region allow for tomographic reconstruction of a 2-dimensional atmospheric state, in particular of gravity wave structures. As no real data is available, the feasibility of this tomographic retrieval is carried out with simulation data in this work. It shows that one major advantage of this observation strategy is that much smaller scale GWs can be observed. We derive a GW sensitivity function, and it is shown that target mode observations are able to capture GWs with horizontal wavelengths as short as ~ 50 km for a large range of vertical wavelengths. This is far better than the horizontal wavelength limit of 100–200 km obtained for conventional limb sounding.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilo Fytterer ◽  
Christian von Savigny ◽  
Martin Mlynczak ◽  
Miriam Sinnhuber

Abstract. An OH airglow model was developed to derive night-time atomic oxygen (O(3P)) and atomic hydrogen (H) from satellite OH airglow observations in the mesopause region (~ 75–100 km). The OH airglow model is based on the zero dimensional box model CAABA/MECCA-3.72f and was empirically adjusted to fit four different OH airglow emissions observed by the satellite/instrument configuration TIMED/SABER at 2.0 μm and at 1.6 μm as well as measurements by ENVISAT/SCIAMACHY of the transitions OH(6-2) and OH(3-1). Comparisons between the Best fit model obtained here and the satellite measurements suggest that deactivation of vibrationally excited OH(v) via OH(v ≥ 7) + O2 might favour relaxation to OH(v' ≤ 5) + O2 by multi-quantum quenching. It is further indicated that the deactivation pathway to OH(v' = v − 5) + O2 dominates. The results also provide general support of the recently proposed mechanism OH(v) + O(3P) → OH(0 ≤ v' ≤ v − 5) + O(1D) but suggest slower rates of OH(v = 7,6,5) + O(3P). Additionally, deactivation to OH(v' = v − 5) + O(1D) might be preferred. The profiles of O(3P) and H derived here are plausible between 80 km and 95  km. The values of O(3P) obtained in this study agree with the corresponding TIMED/SABER values between 80 km and 85 km, but are larger from 85 to 95 km due to different relaxation assumptions of OH(v) + O(3P). The H profile found here is generally larger than TIMED/SABER H by about 30–35 % from 80 to 95 km, which might be attributed to too high O3 night-time values.


2017 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
pp. 3628-3628
Author(s):  
Christophe MILLET ◽  
Bruno RIBSTEIN ◽  
Francois LOTT

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