In-situ density measurements in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere region with the TOTAL and CONE instruments

2013 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Strelnikov ◽  
Markus Rapp ◽  
Franz-Josef Lübkin
Keyword(s):  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
Density Measurements

Formation of the double stratopause and elevated stratopause associated with the major stratospheric sudden warming in 2018/19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruka Okui ◽  
Kaoru Sato ◽  
Dai Koshin ◽  
Shingo Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Baroclinic Instability ◽  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Temperature Structure ◽  
Residual Circulation ◽  
Stratospheric Sudden Warming

<p>After several recent stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) events, the stratopause disappeared and reformed at a higher altitude, forming an elevated stratopause (ES). The relative roles of atmospheric waves in the mechanism of ES formation are still not fully understood. We performed a hindcast of the 2018/19 SSW event using a gravity-wave (GW) permitting general circulation model containing the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), and analyzed dynamical phenomena throughout the entire middle atmosphere. An ES formed after the major warming on 1 January 2019. There was a marked temperature maximum in the polar upper mesosphere around 28 December 2018 prior to the disappearance of the descending stratopause associated with the SSW. This temperature structure with two maxima in the vertical is referred to as a double stratopause (DS). We showed that adiabatic heating from the residual circulation driven by GW forcing (GWF) causes barotropic and/or baroclinic instability before DS formation, causing in situ generation of planetary waves (PWs). These PWs propagate into the MLT and exert negative forcing, which contributes to DS formation. Both negative GWF and PWF above the recovered eastward jet play crucial roles in ES formation. The altitude of the recovered eastward jet, which regulates GWF and PWF height, is likely affected by the DS structure. Simple vertical propagation from the lower atmosphere is insufficient to explain the presence of the GWs observed in this event.</p>

The Hotel Payload 2 campaign: Overview of NO, O and electron density measurements in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere

2011 ◽  
Vol 73 (14-15) ◽  
pp. 2228-2236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl-Fredrik Enell ◽  
Jonas Hedin ◽  
Jacek Stegman ◽  
Georg Witt ◽  
Martin Friedrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Density ◽  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
Density Measurements ◽  
Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere

scholarly journals On the short-term variability of turbulence and temperature in the winter mesosphere

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 1099-1116
Author(s):  
Gerald A. Lehmacher ◽  
Miguel F. Larsen ◽  
Richard L. Collins ◽  
Aroh Barjatya ◽  
Boris Strelnikov
Keyword(s):  
Attitude Control ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
Density Fluctuations ◽  
Large Temperature ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Temperature Structure ◽  
Wind Shears

Abstract. Four mesosphere–lower thermosphere temperature and turbulence profiles were obtained in situ within ∼30 min and over an area of about 100 by 100 km during a sounding rocket experiment conducted on 26 January 2015 at Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska. In this paper we examine the spatial and temporal variability of mesospheric turbulence in relationship to the static stability of the background atmosphere. Using active payload attitude control, neutral density fluctuations, a tracer for turbulence, were observed with very little interference from the payload spin motion, and with high precision (<0.01 %) at sub-meter resolution. The large-scale vertical temperature structure was very consistent between the four soundings. The mesosphere was almost isothermal, which means more stratified, between 60 and 80 km, and again between 88 and 95 km. The stratified regions adjoined quasi-adiabatic regions assumed to be well mixed. Additional evidence of vertical transport and convective activity comes from sodium densities and trimethyl aluminum trail development, respectively, which were both observed simultaneously with the in situ measurements. We found considerable kilometer-scale temperature variability with amplitudes of 20 K in the stratified region below 80 km. Several thin turbulent layers were embedded in this region, differing in width and altitude for each profile. Energy dissipation rates varied between 0.1 and 10 mW kg−1, which is typical for the winter mesosphere. Very little turbulence was observed above 82 km, consistent with very weak small-scale gravity wave activity in the upper mesosphere during the launch night. On the other hand, above the cold and prominent mesopause at 102 km, large temperature excursions of +40 to +70 K were observed. Simultaneous wind measurements revealed extreme wind shears near 108 km, and combined with the observed temperature gradient, isolated regions of unstable Richardson numbers (0<Ri<0.25) were detected in the lower thermosphere. The experiment was launched into a bright auroral arc under moderately disturbed conditions (Kp∼5).

The Momentum Budget in the Stratosphere, Mesosphere, and Lower Thermosphere. Part II: The In Situ Generation of Gravity Waves

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (10) ◽  
pp. 3635-3651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryosuke Yasui ◽  
Kaoru Sato ◽  
Yasunobu Miyoshi
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
Shear Instability ◽  
Wave Forcing ◽  
Momentum Budget ◽  
Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere ◽  
In Situ Generation ◽  
Mlt Region

The contributions of gravity waves to the momentum budget in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) is examined using simulation data from the Ground-to-Topside Model of Atmosphere and Ionosphere for Aeronomy (GAIA) whole-atmosphere model. Regardless of the relatively coarse model resolution, gravity waves appear in the MLT region. The resolved gravity waves largely contribute to the MLT momentum budget. A pair of positive and negative Eliassen–Palm flux divergences of the resolved gravity waves are observed in the summer MLT region, suggesting that the resolved gravity waves are likely in situ generated in the MLT region. In the summer MLT region, the mean zonal winds have a strong vertical shear that is likely formed by parameterized gravity wave forcing. The Richardson number sometimes becomes less than a quarter in the strong-shear region, suggesting that the resolved gravity waves are generated by shear instability. In addition, shear instability occurs in the low (middle) latitudes of the summer (winter) MLT region and is associated with diurnal (semidiurnal) migrating tides. Resolved gravity waves are also radiated from these regions. In Part I of this paper, it was shown that Rossby waves in the MLT region are also radiated by the barotropic and/or baroclinic instability formed by parameterized gravity wave forcing. These results strongly suggest that the forcing by gravity waves originating from the lower atmosphere causes the barotropic/baroclinic and shear instabilities in the mesosphere that, respectively, generate Rossby and gravity waves and suggest that the in situ generation and dissipation of these waves play important roles in the momentum budget of the MLT region.

scholarly journals Density structures inside the plasmasphere: Cluster observations

2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 2577-2585 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Darrouzet ◽  
P. M. E. Décréau ◽  
J. De Keyser ◽  
A. Masson ◽  
D. L. Gallagher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Density Gradient ◽  
Time Delays ◽  
Statistical Study ◽  
Outer Boundary ◽  
Normal Velocity ◽  
Density Profiles ◽  
Density Measurements ◽  
Image Satellite ◽  
Electron Density Profiles

Abstract. The electron density profiles derived from the EFW and WHISPER instruments on board the four Cluster spacecraft reveal density structures inside the plasmasphere and at its outer boundary, the plasmapause. We have conducted a statistical study to characterize these density structures. We focus on the plasmasphere crossing on 11 April 2002, during which Cluster observed several density irregularities inside the plasmasphere, as well as a plasmaspheric plume. We derive the density gradient vectors from simultaneous density measurements by the four spacecraft. We also determine the normal velocity of the boundaries of the plume and of the irregularities from the time delays between those boundaries in the four individual density profiles, assuming they are planar. These new observations yield novel insights about the occurrence of density irregularities, their geometry and their dynamics. These in-situ measurements are compared with global images of the plasmasphere from the EUV imager on board the IMAGE satellite.

scholarly journals Stratification observed by the in situ plasma density measurements from the Swarm satellites

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 517-526
Author(s):  
Xiuying Wang ◽  
Wanli Cheng ◽  
Zihan Zhou ◽  
Dehe Yang ◽  
Jing Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Density ◽  
Continuous Distribution ◽  
Direct Analysis ◽  
Density Measurements ◽  
Equatorial Ionization Anomaly ◽  
Swarm Satellites ◽  
Plasma Peak ◽  
First Time ◽  
New Discovery

Abstract. The stratification phenomenon is investigated using the simultaneous in situ plasma density measurements obtained by the Swarm satellites orbiting at different altitudes above the F2 peak. For the first time, the continuous distribution morphology and the exact locations are obtained for the nighttime stratification, which show that the stratification events are centered at the EIA (equatorial ionization anomaly) trough and extend towards the two EIA crests, with the most significant part being located at the EIA trough. Another new discovery is the stratification in southern mid-latitudes; stratification events in this region are located on a local plasma peak sandwiched by two lower density strips covering all the longitudes. The formation mechanism of the stratification for the two latitudinal regions is discussed, but the stratification mechanism in southern mid-latitudes remains an unsolved problem. Highlights. This paper addresses the following: first application of in situ plasma densities for the direct analysis of the stratification in F2 layer, refined features of the exact location and continuous morphology for the stratification phenomenon, a new discovery of stratification covering all longitudes in southern mid-latitudes.

scholarly journals Stratification observed by the in situ measurements from the Swarm satellites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiuying Wang ◽  
Wanli Cheng ◽  
Zihan Zhou ◽  
Dehe Yang ◽  
Jing Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unsolved Problem ◽  
Continuous Distribution ◽  
Density Measurements ◽  
Equatorial Ionization Anomaly ◽  
Swarm Satellites ◽  
Plasma Peak ◽  
First Time ◽  
Different Altitudes ◽  
New Discovery

Abstract. Stratification phenomenon is investigated using the simultaneous in situ plasma density measurements obtained by the Swarm satellites orbiting at different altitudes above F2 peak. For the first time, the continuous distribution morphology and the exact locations are obtained for the nighttime stratification, which show that the stratification events are centered at the EIA (equatorial ionization anomaly) trough and extend towards the two EIA crests with the most significant part being located at the EIA trough. Another new discovery is the stratification in southern mid-latitudes; stratification events in this region are located on a local plasma peak sandwiched by two lower density strips covering all the longitudes. The formation mechanism of the stratification for the two latitudinal regions is discussed, but the stratification mechanism in southern mid-latitudes remains an unsolved problem.

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