Search for: All records

The satellite‐based Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) instrument and Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) observed concentric gravity waves (GWs) generated by Typhoon Yutu in late October 2018. This work compares CIPS and AIRS nadir viewing observations of GWs at altitudes of 50–55 and 30–40 km, respectively, to simulations from the high‐resolution European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasting Integrated Forecasting System (ECMWF‐IFS) and ECMWF reanalysis v5 (ERA5). Both ECMWF‐IFS with 9 km and ERA5 with 31 km horizontal resolution show concentric GWs at similar locations and timing as the AIRS and CIPS observations. The GW wavelengths are ∼225–236 km in ECMWF‐IFS simulations, which compares well with the wavelength inferred from the observations. After validation of ECMWF GWs, five category five typhoon events during 2018 are analyzed using ECMWF to obtain characteristics of concentric GWs in the Western Pacific regions. The amplitudes of GWs in the stratosphere are not strongly correlated with the strength of typhoons, but are controlled by background wind conditions. Our results confirm that amplitudes and shapes of concentric GWs observed in the stratosphere and lowermost mesosphere are heavily influenced by the background wind conditions.

 

The cloud imaging and particle size (CIPS) instrument onboard the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere satellite provides images of gravity waves (GWs) near the stratopause and lowermost mesosphere (altitudes of 50–55 km). GW identification is based on Rayleigh Albedo Anomaly (RAA) variances, which are derived from GW‐induced fluctuations in Rayleigh scattering at 265 nm. Based on 3 years of CIPS RAA variance data from 2019 to 2022, we report for the first time the seasonal distribution of GWs entering the mesosphere with high (7.5 km) horizontal resolution on a near‐global scale. Seasonally averaged GW variances clearly show spatial and temporal patterns of GW activity, mainly due to the seasonal variation of primary GW sources such as convection, the polar vortices and flow over mountains. Measurements of stratospheric GWs derived from Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) observations of 4.3 μm brightness temperature perturbations within the same 3‐year time range are compared to the CIPS results. The comparisons show that locations of GW hotspots are similar in the CIPS and AIRS observations. Variability in GW variances and the monthly changes in background zonal wind suggest a strong GW‐wind correlation. This study demonstrates the utility of the CIPS GW variance data set for statistical investigations of GWs in the lowermost mesosphere, as well as provides a reference for location/time selection for GW case studies.

 

The mesospheric polar vortex (MPV) plays a critical role in coupling the atmosphere-ionosphere system, so its accurate simulation is imperative for robust predictions of the thermosphere and ionosphere. While the stratospheric polar vortex is widely understood and characterized, the mesospheric polar vortex is much less well-known and observed, a short-coming that must be addressed to improve predictability of the ionosphere. The winter MPV facilitates top-down coupling via the communication of high energy particle precipitation effects from the thermosphere down to the stratosphere, though the details of this mechanism are poorly understood. Coupling from the bottom-up involves gravity waves (GWs), planetary waves (PWs), and tidal interactions that are distinctly different and important during weak vs. strong vortex states, and yet remain poorly understood as well. Moreover, generation and modulation of GWs by the large wind shears at the vortex edge contribute to the generation of traveling atmospheric disturbances and traveling ionospheric disturbances. Unfortunately, representation of the MPV is generally not accurate in state-of-the-art general circulation models, even when compared to the limited observational data available. Models substantially underestimate eastward momentum at the top of the MPV, which limits the ability to predict upward effects in the thermosphere. The zonal wind bias responsible for this missing momentum in models has been attributed to deficiencies in the treatment of GWs and to an inaccurate representation of the high-latitude dynamics. In the coming decade, simulations of the MPV must be improved. 

The work presented here introduces a new data set for inclusion of energetic electron precipitation (EEP) in climate model simulations. Measurements made by the medium energy proton and electron detector (MEPED) instruments onboard both the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites and the European Space Agency Meteorological Operational satellites are used to create global maps of precipitating electron fluxes. Unlike most previous data sets, the electron fluxes are computed using both the 0° and 90° MEPED detectors. Conversion of observed, broadband electron count rates to differential spectral fluxes uses a linear combination of analytical functions instead of a single function. Two dimensional maps of electron spectral flux are created using Delaunay triangulation to account for the relatively sparse nature of the MEPED sampling. This improves on previous studies that use a 1D interpolation over magnetic local time or L‐shell zonal averaging of the MEPED data. A Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) simulation of the southern hemisphere 2003 winter using the new precipitating electron data set is shown to agree more closely with observations of odd nitrogen than WACCM simulations using other MEPED‐based electron data sets. Simulated EEP‐induced odd nitrogen increases led to ozone losses of more than 15% in the polar stratosphere near 10 hPa in September of 2003.

 

We aim to extract a universal law that governs the gravity wave manifestation in polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs). Gravity wave morphology and the clarity level of display vary throughout the wave population manifested by the PMC albedo data. Higher clarity refers to more distinct exhibition of the features, which often correspond to larger variances and a better-organized nature. A gravity wave tracking algorithm based on the continuous Morlet wavelet transform is applied to the PMC albedo data at 83 km altitude taken by the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) instrument to obtain a large ensemble of the gravity wave detections. The horizontal wavelengths in the range of  ∼ 20–60 km are the focus of the study. It shows that the albedo (wave) power statistically increases as the background gets brighter. We resample the wave detections to conform to a normal distribution to examine the wave morphology and display clarity beyond the cloud brightness impact. Sample cases are selected at the two tails and the peak of the normal distribution to represent the full set of wave detections. For these cases the albedo power spectra follow exponential decay toward smaller scales. The high-albedo-power category has the most rapid decay (i.e., exponent  =  −3.2) and corresponds to the most distinct wave display. The wave display becomes increasingly blurrier for the medium- and low-power categories, which hold the monotonically decreasing spectral exponents of −2.9 and −2.5, respectively. The majority of waves are straight waves whose clarity levels can collapse between the different brightness levels, but in the brighter background the wave signatures seem to exhibit mildly turbulent-like behavior. 

The energetic particle precipitation (EPP) indirect effect (IE) refers to the downward transport of reactive odd nitrogen (NO_x = NO + NO₂) produced by EPP (EPP‐NO_x) from the polar winter mesosphere and lower thermosphere to the stratosphere where it can destroy ozone. Previous studies of the EPP IE examined NO_xdescent averaged over the polar region, but the work presented here considers longitudinal variations. We report that the January 2009 split Arctic vortex in the stratosphere left an imprint on the distribution of NO near the mesopause, and that the magnitude of EPP‐NO_xdescent in the upper mesosphere depends strongly on the planetary wave (PW) phase. We focus on an 11‐day case study in late January immediately following the 2009 sudden stratospheric warming during which regional‐scale Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs) formed atop the strengthening mesospheric vortex. The LCSs emerged over the north Atlantic in the vicinity of the trough of a 10‐day westward traveling planetary wave. Over the next week, the LCSs acted to confine NO‐rich air to polar latitudes, effectively prolonging its lifetime as it descended into the top of the polar vortex. Both a whole atmosphere data assimilation model and satellite observations show that the PW trough remained coincident in space and time with the NO‐rich air as both migrated westward over the Canadian Arctic. Estimates of descent rates indicate five times stronger descent inside the PW trough compared to other longitudes. This case serves to set the stage for future climatological analysis of NO transport via LCSs.

 

The Polar Mesospheric Cloud Turbulence (PMC Turbo) experiment was designed to observe and quantify the dynamics of small‐scale gravity waves (GWs) and instabilities leading to turbulence in the upper mesosphere during polar summer using instruments aboard a stratospheric balloon. The PMC Turbo scientific payload comprised seven high‐resolution cameras and a Rayleigh lidar. Overlapping wide and narrow camera field of views from the balloon altitude of ~38 km enabled resolution of features extending from ~20 m to ~100 km at the PMC layer altitude of ~82 km. The Rayleigh lidar provided profiles of temperature below the PMC altitudes and of the PMCs throughout the flight. PMCs were imaged during an ~5.9‐day flight from Esrange, Sweden, to Northern Canada in July 2018. These data reveal sensitivity of the PMCs and the dynamics driving their structure and variability to tropospheric weather and larger‐scale GWs and tides at the PMC altitudes. Initial results reveal strong modulation of PMC presence and brightness by larger‐scale waves, significant variability in the occurrence of GWs and instability dynamics on time scales of hours, and a diversity of small‐scale dynamics leading to instabilities and turbulence at smaller scales. At multiple times, the overall field of view was dominated by extensive and nearly continuous GWs and instabilities at horizontal scales from ~2 to 100 km, suggesting sustained turbulence generation and persistence. At other times, GWs were less pronounced and instabilities were localized and/or weaker, but not absent. An overview of the PMC Turbo experiment motivations, scientific goals, and initial results is presented here.