Articles | Volume 23, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-949-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-949-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
19 Jan 2023
Research article |
| 19 Jan 2023
| 19 Jan 2023
Signatures of gravity wave-induced instabilities in balloon lidar soundings of polar mesospheric clouds
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, German Aerospace Center, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Bernd Kaifler
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, German Aerospace Center, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Markus Rapp
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, German Aerospace Center, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
David C. Fritts
GATS, Boulder, CO, USA
Related authors
Robert Reichert, Natalie Kaifler, and Bernd Kaifler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4659–4673, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4659-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4659-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Imagine you want to determine how quickly the pitch of a passing ambulance’s siren changes. If the vehicle is traveling slowly, the pitch changes only slightly, but if it is traveling fast, the pitch also changes rapidly. In a similar way, the wind in the middle atmosphere modulates the wavelength of atmospheric gravity waves. We have investigated the question of how strong the maximum wind may be so that the change in wavelength can still be determined with the help of wavelet transformation.
Natalie Kaifler, Bernd Kaifler, Markus Rapp, Guiping Liu, Diego Janches, Gerd Baumgarten, and Jose-Luis Hormaechea
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2318, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2318, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Noctilucent clouds (NLC) are silvery clouds that can be viewed during twilight and indicate atmospheric conditions like temperature and water vapor in the upper mesosphere. High-resolution measurements from a remote-sensing laser instrument provide NLC height, brightness and occurrence rate since 2017. Most observations occur in the morning hours, likely caused by strong tidal winds, and NLC ice particles are thus transported from elsewhere to the observing location in the southern hemisphere.
Natalie Kaifler, Bernd Kaifler, Markus Rapp, and David C. Fritts
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4923–4934, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4923-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4923-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We measured polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs), our Earth’s highest clouds at the edge of space, with a Rayleigh lidar from a stratospheric balloon. We describe how we derive the cloud’s brightness and discuss the stability of the gondola pointing and the sensitivity of our measurements. We present our high-resolution PMC dataset that is used to study dynamical processes in the upper mesosphere, e.g. regarding gravity waves, mesospheric bores, vortex rings, and Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities.
Kevin Ohneiser, Albert Ansmann, Bernd Kaifler, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Boris Barja, Daniel A. Knopf, Natalie Kaifler, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, Diego Villanueva, Cristofer Jimenez, Martin Radenz, Ronny Engelmann, Igor Veselovskii, and Félix Zamorano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7417–7442, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7417-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7417-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present and discuss 2 years of long-term lidar observations of the largest stratospheric perturbation by wildfire smoke ever observed. The smoke originated from the record-breaking Australian fires in 2019–2020 and affects climate conditions and even the ozone layer in the Southern Hemisphere. The obvious link between dense smoke occurrence in the stratosphere and strong ozone depletion found in the Arctic and in the Antarctic in 2020 can be regarded as a new aspect of climate change.
Bernd Kaifler and Natalie Kaifler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1715–1732, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1715-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1715-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the Compact Rayleigh Autonomous Lidar (CORAL), which is the first lidar instrument to make fully automatic high-resolution measurements of atmospheric density and temperature between 15 and 90 km altitude. CORAL achieves a much larger measurement cadence than conventional lidars and thus facilitates studies of rare atmospheric phenomena.
Bernd Kaifler, Dimitry Rempel, Philipp Roßi, Christian Büdenbender, Natalie Kaifler, and Volodymyr Baturkin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5681–5695, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5681-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5681-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The Balloon Lidar Experiment was the first lidar dedicated to measurements in the mesosphere flown on a balloon. During a 6 d flight, it made high-resolution observations of polar mesospheric clouds which form at high latitudes during summer at ~ 83 km altitude and are the highest clouds in Earth's atmosphere. We describe the instrument and assess its performance. We could detect fainter clouds with higher resolution than what is possible with ground-based instruments.
Robert Reichert, Bernd Kaifler, Natalie Kaifler, Markus Rapp, Pierre-Dominique Pautet, Michael J. Taylor, Alexander Kozlovsky, Mark Lester, and Rigel Kivi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5997–6015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5997-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5997-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
To determine gravity wave properties like wavelengths, periods and propagation directions at mesospheric altitudes (∼ 86 km) we combine lidar and airglow temperature and meteor radar wind data. By means of wavelet transformation we investigate the wave field and determine intrinsic wave properties as functions of time and period. We are able to identify several gravity wave packets by their distinct propagation and discover a superposition with possible wave–wave and wave–mean-flow interaction.
Andreas Dörnbrack, Sonja Gisinger, Natalie Kaifler, Tanja Christina Portele, Martina Bramberger, Markus Rapp, Michael Gerding, Jens Faber, Nedjeljka Žagar, and Damjan Jelić
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 12915–12931, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12915-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12915-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
A deep upper-air sounding stimulated the current investigation of internal gravity waves excited during a minor sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) in the Arctic winter 2015/16. The analysis of the radiosonde profile revealed large kinetic and potential energies in the upper stratosphere without any simultaneous enhancement of upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric values. In combination with high-resolution meteorological analyses we identified an elevated source of gravity wave excitation.
B. Ehard, B. Kaifler, N. Kaifler, and M. Rapp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4645–4655, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4645-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4645-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We evalute four methods currently used for gravity wave extraction from lidar temperature measurements. The spectral response of these methods is determined with the help of synthetic temperature perturbations. Afterwards, the methods are applied to lidar temperature measurements over New Zealand for further evaluation of the four algorithms. Based on the results two methods are recommended for gravity wave extraction.
T. D. Demissie, P. J. Espy, N. H. Kleinknecht, M. Hatlen, N. Kaifler, and G. Baumgarten
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12133–12142, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12133-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12133-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
Summertime gravity waves detected in noctilucent clouds (NLCs) between 64◦ and 74◦N are found to have a similar climatology to those observed between 60◦ and 64◦N, and their direction of propagation is to the north and northeast as observed south of 64◦N. However, a unique population of fast, short wavelength waves propagating towards the SW is observed in the NLC. The sources of the prominent wave structures observed in the NLC are likely to be from waves propagating from near the tropopause.
Robert Reichert, Natalie Kaifler, and Bernd Kaifler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4659–4673, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4659-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4659-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Imagine you want to determine how quickly the pitch of a passing ambulance’s siren changes. If the vehicle is traveling slowly, the pitch changes only slightly, but if it is traveling fast, the pitch also changes rapidly. In a similar way, the wind in the middle atmosphere modulates the wavelength of atmospheric gravity waves. We have investigated the question of how strong the maximum wind may be so that the change in wavelength can still be determined with the help of wavelet transformation.
Natalie Kaifler, Bernd Kaifler, Markus Rapp, Guiping Liu, Diego Janches, Gerd Baumgarten, and Jose-Luis Hormaechea
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2318, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2318, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Noctilucent clouds (NLC) are silvery clouds that can be viewed during twilight and indicate atmospheric conditions like temperature and water vapor in the upper mesosphere. High-resolution measurements from a remote-sensing laser instrument provide NLC height, brightness and occurrence rate since 2017. Most observations occur in the morning hours, likely caused by strong tidal winds, and NLC ice particles are thus transported from elsewhere to the observing location in the southern hemisphere.
Joan Stude, Heinfried Aufmhoff, Hans Schlager, Markus Rapp, Carsten Baumann, Frank Arnold, and Boris Strelnikov
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1631, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1631, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We used a mass spectrometer on a rocket to analyze natural ions at altitudes between 60 and 120 km. Our instrument was launched in 2018 and 2021 from Norway. The heaviest particles were detected around 80 km, while medium particles could be found even above 100 km. Our measurements show that different particles are formed and not just one predominating compound. The most likely compounds that form meteor smoke particles in our measurements are made up from oxides of iron, magnesium and silicon.
Bjorn Stevens, Stefan Adami, Tariq Ali, Hartwig Anzt, Zafer Aslan, Sabine Attinger, Jaana Bäck, Johanna Baehr, Peter Bauer, Natacha Bernier, Bob Bishop, Hendryk Bockelmann, Sandrine Bony, Guy Brasseur, David N. Bresch, Sean Breyer, Gilbert Brunet, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Junji Cao, Christelle Castet, Yafang Cheng, Ayantika Dey Choudhury, Deborah Coen, Susanne Crewell, Atish Dabholkar, Qing Dai, Francisco Doblas-Reyes, Dale Durran, Ayoub El Gaidi, Charlie Ewen, Eleftheria Exarchou, Veronika Eyring, Florencia Falkinhoff, David Farrell, Piers M. Forster, Ariane Frassoni, Claudia Frauen, Oliver Fuhrer, Shahzad Gani, Edwin Gerber, Debra Goldfarb, Jens Grieger, Nicolas Gruber, Wilco Hazeleger, Rolf Herken, Chris Hewitt, Torsten Hoefler, Huang-Hsiung Hsu, Daniela Jacob, Alexandra Jahn, Christian Jakob, Thomas Jung, Christopher Kadow, In-Sik Kang, Sarah Kang, Karthik Kashinath, Katharina Kleinen-von Königslöw, Daniel Klocke, Uta Kloenne, Milan Klöwer, Chihiro Kodama, Stefan Kollet, Tobias Kölling, Jenni Kontkanen, Steve Kopp, Michal Koran, Markku Kulmala, Hanna Lappalainen, Fakhria Latifi, Bryan Lawrence, June Yi Lee, Quentin Lejeun, Christian Lessig, Chao Li, Thomas Lippert, Jürg Luterbacher, Pekka Manninen, Jochem Marotzke, Satoshi Matsouoka, Charlotte Merchant, Peter Messmer, Gero Michel, Kristel Michielsen, Tomoki Miyakawa, Jens Müller, Ramsha Munir, Sandeep Narayanasetti, Ousmane Ndiaye, Carlos Nobre, Achim Oberg, Riko Oki, Tuba Özkan-Haller, Tim Palmer, Stan Posey, Andreas Prein, Odessa Primus, Mike Pritchard, Julie Pullen, Dian Putrasahan, Johannes Quaas, Krishnan Raghavan, Venkatachalam Ramaswamy, Markus Rapp, Florian Rauser, Markus Reichstein, Aromar Revi, Sonakshi Saluja, Masaki Satoh, Vera Schemann, Sebastian Schemm, Christina Schnadt Poberaj, Thomas Schulthess, Cath Senior, Jagadish Shukla, Manmeet Singh, Julia Slingo, Adam Sobel, Silvina Solman, Jenna Spitzer, Philip Stier, Thomas Stocker, Sarah Strock, Hang Su, Petteri Taalas, John Taylor, Susann Tegtmeier, Georg Teutsch, Adrian Tompkins, Uwe Ulbrich, Pier-Luigi Vidale, Chien-Ming Wu, Hao Xu, Najibullah Zaki, Laure Zanna, Tianjun Zhou, and Florian Ziemen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2113–2122, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2113-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2113-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
To manage Earth in the Anthropocene, new tools, new institutions, and new forms of international cooperation will be required. Earth Virtualization Engines is proposed as an international federation of centers of excellence to empower all people to respond to the immense and urgent challenges posed by climate change.
Benjamin Witschas, Sonja Gisinger, Stephan Rahm, Andreas Dörnbrack, David C. Fritts, and Markus Rapp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1087–1101, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1087-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1087-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, a novel scan technique is applied to an airborne coherent Doppler wind lidar, enabling us to measure the vertical wind speed and the horizontal wind speed along flight direction simultaneously with a horizontal resolution of about 800 m and a vertical resolution of 100 m. The performed observations are valuable for gravity wave characterization as they allow us to calculate the leg-averaged momentum flux profile and, with that, the propagation direction of excited gravity waves.
Hans-Christoph Lachnitt, Peter Hoor, Daniel Kunkel, Martina Bramberger, Andreas Dörnbrack, Stefan Müller, Philipp Reutter, Andreas Giez, Thorsten Kaluza, and Markus Rapp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 355–373, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-355-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-355-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present an analysis of high-resolution airborne measurements during a flight of the DEEPWAVE 2014 campaign in New Zealand. The focus of this flight was to study the effects of enhanced mountain wave activity over the Southern Alps. We discuss changes in the upstream and downstream distributions of N2O and CO and show that these changes are related to turbulence-induced trace gas fluxes which have persistent effects on the trace gas composition in the lower stratosphere.
Natalie Kaifler, Bernd Kaifler, Markus Rapp, and David C. Fritts
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4923–4934, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4923-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4923-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We measured polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs), our Earth’s highest clouds at the edge of space, with a Rayleigh lidar from a stratospheric balloon. We describe how we derive the cloud’s brightness and discuss the stability of the gondola pointing and the sensitivity of our measurements. We present our high-resolution PMC dataset that is used to study dynamical processes in the upper mesosphere, e.g. regarding gravity waves, mesospheric bores, vortex rings, and Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities.
Carsten Baumann, Antti Kero, Shikha Raizada, Markus Rapp, Michael P. Sulzer, Pekka T. Verronen, and Juha Vierinen
Ann. Geophys., 40, 519–530, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-40-519-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-40-519-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Arecibo radar was used to probe free electrons of the ionized atmosphere between 70 and 100 km altitude. This is also the altitude region were meteors evaporate and form secondary particulate matter, the so-called meteor smoke particles (MSPs). Free electrons attach to these MSPs when the sun is below the horizon and cause a drop in the number of free electrons, which are the subject of these measurements. We also identified a different number of free electrons during sunset and sunrise.
Neil P. Hindley, Nicholas J. Mitchell, Neil Cobbett, Anne K. Smith, Dave C. Fritts, Diego Janches, Corwin J. Wright, and Tracy Moffat-Griffin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9435–9459, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9435-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9435-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present observations of winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) from a recently installed meteor radar on the remote island of South Georgia (54° S, 36° W). We characterise mean winds, tides, planetary waves, and gravity waves in the MLT at this location and compare our measured winds with a leading climate model. We find that the observed wintertime winds are unexpectedly reversed from model predictions, probably because of missing impacts of secondary gravity waves in the model.
Abhiram Doddi, Dale Lawrence, David Fritts, Ling Wang, Thomas Lund, William Brown, Dragan Zajic, and Lakshmi Kantha
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4023–4045, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4023-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4023-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Small-scale turbulent structures are ubiquitous in the atmosphere, yet our understanding of their structure and dynamics is vastly incomplete. IDEAL aimed to improve our understanding of small-scale turbulent flow features in the lower atmosphere. A small, unmanned, fixed-wing aircraft was employed to make targeted observations of atmospheric columns. Measured data were used to guide atmospheric model simulations designed to describe the structure and dynamics of small-scale turbulence.
Kevin Ohneiser, Albert Ansmann, Bernd Kaifler, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Boris Barja, Daniel A. Knopf, Natalie Kaifler, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, Diego Villanueva, Cristofer Jimenez, Martin Radenz, Ronny Engelmann, Igor Veselovskii, and Félix Zamorano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7417–7442, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7417-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7417-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present and discuss 2 years of long-term lidar observations of the largest stratospheric perturbation by wildfire smoke ever observed. The smoke originated from the record-breaking Australian fires in 2019–2020 and affects climate conditions and even the ozone layer in the Southern Hemisphere. The obvious link between dense smoke occurrence in the stratosphere and strong ozone depletion found in the Arctic and in the Antarctic in 2020 can be regarded as a new aspect of climate change.
Stefanie Knobloch, Bernd Kaifler, and Markus Rapp
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2021-310, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2021-310, 2022
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
The study tests the quality of temperature measurements from the airborne Rayleigh lidar ALIMA. The ALIMA system was first used during the SouthTRAC campaign in September 2019 in the vicinity of the Southern Andes, Drake Passage and Antarctic Peninsula. The raw lidar measurements are additionally simulated based on reanalysis data for one research flight. Different types of uncertainty influencing the accuracy of the temperature measurements are studied, e.g. atmospheric and technical sources.
Emranul Sarkar, Alexander Kozlovsky, Thomas Ulich, Ilkka Virtanen, Mark Lester, and Bernd Kaifler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4157–4169, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4157-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4157-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The biasing effect in meteor radar temperature has been a pressing issue for the last 2 decades. This paper has addressed the underlying reasons for such a biasing effect on both theoretical and experimental grounds. An improved statistical method has been developed which allows atmospheric temperatures at around 90 km to be measured with meteor radar in an independent way such that any subsequent bias correction or calibration is no longer required.
Bernd Kaifler and Natalie Kaifler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1715–1732, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1715-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1715-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the Compact Rayleigh Autonomous Lidar (CORAL), which is the first lidar instrument to make fully automatic high-resolution measurements of atmospheric density and temperature between 15 and 90 km altitude. CORAL achieves a much larger measurement cadence than conventional lidars and thus facilitates studies of rare atmospheric phenomena.
Mareike Heckl, Andreas Fix, Matthias Jirousek, Franz Schreier, Jian Xu, and Markus Rapp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1689–1713, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1689-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1689-2021, 2021
Joan Stude, Heinfried Aufmhoff, Hans Schlager, Markus Rapp, Frank Arnold, and Boris Strelnikov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 983–993, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-983-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-983-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we describe the instrument ROMARA and show data from the first flight on a research rocket.
On the way through the atmosphere, the instrument detects positive and negative, natural occurring ions before returning back to ground.
ROMARA was successfully launched together with other instruments into a special radar echo.
We detected typical, light ions of positive and negative charge and heavy negative ions, but no heavy positive ions.
Gunter Stober, Diego Janches, Vivien Matthias, Dave Fritts, John Marino, Tracy Moffat-Griffin, Kathrin Baumgarten, Wonseok Lee, Damian Murphy, Yong Ha Kim, Nicholas Mitchell, and Scott Palo
Ann. Geophys., 39, 1–29, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-1-2021, 2021
Bernd Kaifler, Dimitry Rempel, Philipp Roßi, Christian Büdenbender, Natalie Kaifler, and Volodymyr Baturkin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5681–5695, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5681-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5681-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The Balloon Lidar Experiment was the first lidar dedicated to measurements in the mesosphere flown on a balloon. During a 6 d flight, it made high-resolution observations of polar mesospheric clouds which form at high latitudes during summer at ~ 83 km altitude and are the highest clouds in Earth's atmosphere. We describe the instrument and assess its performance. We could detect fainter clouds with higher resolution than what is possible with ground-based instruments.
Robert Reichert, Bernd Kaifler, Natalie Kaifler, Markus Rapp, Pierre-Dominique Pautet, Michael J. Taylor, Alexander Kozlovsky, Mark Lester, and Rigel Kivi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5997–6015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5997-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5997-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
To determine gravity wave properties like wavelengths, periods and propagation directions at mesospheric altitudes (∼ 86 km) we combine lidar and airglow temperature and meteor radar wind data. By means of wavelet transformation we investigate the wave field and determine intrinsic wave properties as functions of time and period. We are able to identify several gravity wave packets by their distinct propagation and discover a superposition with possible wave–wave and wave–mean-flow interaction.
Boris Strelnikov, Martin Eberhart, Martin Friedrich, Jonas Hedin, Mikhail Khaplanov, Gerd Baumgarten, Bifford P. Williams, Tristan Staszak, Heiner Asmus, Irina Strelnikova, Ralph Latteck, Mykhaylo Grygalashvyly, Franz-Josef Lübken, Josef Höffner, Raimund Wörl, Jörg Gumbel, Stefan Löhle, Stefanos Fasoulas, Markus Rapp, Aroh Barjatya, Michael J. Taylor, and Pierre-Dominique Pautet
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11443–11460, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11443-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11443-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Sounding rockets are the only means of measuring small-scale structures (i.e., spatial scales of kilometers to centimeters) in the Earth's middle atmosphere (50–120 km). We present and analyze brand-new high-resolution measurements of atomic oxygen (O) concentration together with high-resolution measurements of ionospheric plasma and neutral air parameters. We found a new behavior of the O inside turbulent layers, which might be essential to adequately model weather and climate.
Martin Eberhart, Stefan Löhle, Boris Strelnikov, Jonas Hedin, Mikhail Khaplanov, Stefanos Fasoulas, Jörg Gumbel, Franz-Josef Lübken, and Markus Rapp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2445–2461, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2445-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2445-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the measurement of atomic oxygen in the upper atmosphere onboard sounding rockets using solid electrolyte sensors. Calibration of the sensors in the laboratory is explained in detail. Results from the WADIS-2 rocket campaign show profiles of atomic oxygen density with a high spatial resolution.
Mario Nachbar, Henrike Wilms, Denis Duft, Tasha Aylett, Kensei Kitajima, Takuya Majima, John M. C. Plane, Markus Rapp, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4311–4322, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4311-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4311-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Polar mesospheric clouds (PMC) are water ice clouds forming on nanoparticles in the polar summer mesopause. We investigate the impact of solar radiation on PMC formation in the laboratory. We show that Mie theory calculations combined with an equilibrium temperature model presented in this work predict the warming of the particles very well. Using this model we demonstrate that the impact of solar radiation on ice particle formation is significantly lower than previously assumed.
Mykhaylo Grygalashvyly, Martin Eberhart, Jonas Hedin, Boris Strelnikov, Franz-Josef Lübken, Markus Rapp, Stefan Löhle, Stefanos Fasoulas, Mikhail Khaplanov, Jörg Gumbel, and Ekaterina Vorobeva
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1207–1220, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1207-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1207-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Based on rocket-borne true common volume observations of atomic oxygen, atmospheric band emission (762 nm), and background atmosphere density and temperature, one-step, two-step, and combined mechanisms of
O2(b1Σg+) formation were analyzed. We found new coefficients for the fit function based on self-consistent temperature, atomic oxygen, and volume emission observations. This can be used for atmospheric band volume emission modeling or the estimation of atomic oxygen by known volume emission.
Andreas Dörnbrack, Sonja Gisinger, Natalie Kaifler, Tanja Christina Portele, Martina Bramberger, Markus Rapp, Michael Gerding, Jens Faber, Nedjeljka Žagar, and Damjan Jelić
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 12915–12931, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12915-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12915-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
A deep upper-air sounding stimulated the current investigation of internal gravity waves excited during a minor sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) in the Arctic winter 2015/16. The analysis of the radiosonde profile revealed large kinetic and potential energies in the upper stratosphere without any simultaneous enhancement of upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric values. In combination with high-resolution meteorological analyses we identified an elevated source of gravity wave excitation.
Qiang Li, Markus Rapp, Gunter Stober, and Ralph Latteck
Ann. Geophys., 36, 577–586, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-577-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-577-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
With the powerful MAARSY radar, we detected 3D wind fields and the vertical winds show a non-Gaussian distribution. We further obtained the frequency spectrum of vertical wind. The distribution of the spectral slopes under different wind conditions is derived and their comparisons with the background horizontal winds show that the spectra become steeper with increasing wind velocities under quiet conditions, approach a slope of −5/3 at 10 m/s and then maintain this slope for even stronger winds.
Markus Rapp, Andreas Dörnbrack, and Bernd Kaifler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1031–1048, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1031-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1031-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Temperature profiles from operational weather satellites are used to determine the global distribution of gravity wave activity. This is an important information to constrain global climate models. The quality of this data set is assessed by
systematic comparison to model fields from ECMWF which are considered very high quality. This reveals good agreement between model and observations, albeit the model misses localized centers of wave activity if model resolution is too low.
Isabell Krisch, Peter Preusse, Jörn Ungermann, Andreas Dörnbrack, Stephen D. Eckermann, Manfred Ern, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Martin Kaufmann, Hermann Oelhaf, Markus Rapp, Cornelia Strube, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 14937–14953, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14937-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14937-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Using the infrared limb imager GLORIA, the 3-D structure of mesoscale gravity waves in the lower stratosphere was measured for the first time, allowing for a complete 3-D characterization of the waves. This enables the precise determination of the sources of the waves in the mountain regions of Iceland with backward ray tracing. Forward ray tracing shows oblique propagation, an effect generally neglected in global atmospheric models.
Romy Heller, Christiane Voigt, Stuart Beaton, Andreas Dörnbrack, Andreas Giez, Stefan Kaufmann, Christian Mallaun, Hans Schlager, Johannes Wagner, Kate Young, and Markus Rapp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 14853–14869, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14853-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14853-2017, 2017
Heiner Asmus, Tristan Staszak, Boris Strelnikov, Franz-Josef Lübken, Martin Friedrich, and Markus Rapp
Ann. Geophys., 35, 979–998, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-979-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-979-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This work sheds new light on the size distribution of dust grains of meteoric origin in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region using rocket-borne instrumentation. We found that a large number of very small (~ 0.5 nm) particles are charged and therefore have a significant influence on the charge balance of the lower ionosphere.
Boris Strelnikov, Artur Szewczyk, Irina Strelnikova, Ralph Latteck, Gerd Baumgarten, Franz-Josef Lübken, Markus Rapp, Stefanos Fasoulas, Stefan Löhle, Martin Eberhart, Ulf-Peter Hoppe, Tim Dunker, Martin Friedrich, Jonas Hedin, Mikhail Khaplanov, Jörg Gumbel, and Aroh Barjatya
Ann. Geophys., 35, 547–565, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-547-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-547-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The WADIS sounding rocket mission utilized multi-point turbulence measurements in the mesosphere by different techniques, i.e., with ionization gauges carried by rockets and ground-based MAARSY and EISCAT radars. Results show that turbulence energy dissipation rates oscillate in space and time with amplitude of up to 2 orders of magnitude. Spatial oscillations show the same wavelengths as atmospheric gravity waves. Temporal variability reveals periods of atmospheric tides and gravity waves.
Johannes Wagner, Andreas Dörnbrack, Markus Rapp, Sonja Gisinger, Benedikt Ehard, Martina Bramberger, Benjamin Witschas, Fernando Chouza, Stephan Rahm, Christian Mallaun, Gerd Baumgarten, and Peter Hoor
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 4031–4052, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4031-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4031-2017, 2017
Qiang Li, Markus Rapp, Anne Schrön, Andreas Schneider, and Gunter Stober
Ann. Geophys., 34, 1209–1229, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-1209-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-1209-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Turbulence is an essential process in the atmosphere and ocean. Clear-air turbulence is a well-known threat for the safety of aviation. Using a powerful MST radar, we detected turbulence and compared it with the results from radiosondes. The correlation between turbulence and background conditions, e.g., Richardson number and wind shears, is determined. There is a nearly negative correlation between turbulence and Richardson number independent of the length scale over which it was calculated.
Carsten Baumann, Markus Rapp, and Antti Kero
Ann. Geophys., 34, 573–580, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-573-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-573-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Meteor smoke particles (MSPs), originating from evaporated meteoric matter at 60–110 km altitude, are present in the whole atmosphere including polar regions. As electron precipitation is present at high latitudes, these MSPs are bombarded by energetic electrons. The energetic electrons can enter the MSPs and excite secondary electrons. That can lead to a change of the charge state of these MSPs. The study finds that other charging processes, e.g., electron attachment, are more important.
H. Iimura, D. C. Fritts, D. Janches, W. Singer, and N. J. Mitchell
Ann. Geophys., 33, 1349–1359, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-1349-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-1349-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The quasi-5-day wave at mid- and high-latitudes in the mesosphere and lower-thermosphere was compared between the hemispheres using meteor radar horizontal wind measurements, spanning June 2010 to December 2012. Variances of the quasi-5-day wave showed a wave activity from July to August in both hemispheres and in April 2012 in the Northern Hemisphere and November 2012 in the Southern Hemisphere with unique characteristics at each site.
B. Ehard, B. Kaifler, N. Kaifler, and M. Rapp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4645–4655, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4645-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4645-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We evalute four methods currently used for gravity wave extraction from lidar temperature measurements. The spectral response of these methods is determined with the help of synthetic temperature perturbations. Afterwards, the methods are applied to lidar temperature measurements over New Zealand for further evaluation of the four algorithms. Based on the results two methods are recommended for gravity wave extraction.
M. Placke, P. Hoffmann, and M. Rapp
Ann. Geophys., 33, 1091–1096, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-1091-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-1091-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Imposed momentum from mesospheric breaking gravity waves (GWs) is conserved by a balance between vertical divergence of GW momentum flux and Coriolis acceleration of the mean meridional wind. We present the first experimental verification of the momentum balance from the Saura MF radar at 69°N. For contributions from GWs only this balance is fulfilled between 70 and 100km during summer when GWs dominate the mesospheric dynamics, but it does not exist in winter due to planetary wave impacts.
V. Matthias, T. G. Shepherd, P. Hoffmann, and M. Rapp
Ann. Geophys., 33, 199–206, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-199-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-199-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
A vertical coupling process in the northern high-latitude middle atmosphere has been identified during the equinox transitions, which we call the “hiccup” and which acts like a “mini sudden stratospheric warming (SSW)”. We study the average characteristics of the hiccup based on a composite analysis using a nudged model. A comparison of the average characteristics of hiccups and SSWs shows both similarities and differences between the two vertical coupling processes.
T. D. Demissie, P. J. Espy, N. H. Kleinknecht, M. Hatlen, N. Kaifler, and G. Baumgarten
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12133–12142, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12133-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12133-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
Summertime gravity waves detected in noctilucent clouds (NLCs) between 64◦ and 74◦N are found to have a similar climatology to those observed between 60◦ and 64◦N, and their direction of propagation is to the north and northeast as observed south of 64◦N. However, a unique population of fast, short wavelength waves propagating towards the SW is observed in the NLC. The sources of the prominent wave structures observed in the NLC are likely to be from waves propagating from near the tropopause.
H. Wilms, M. Rapp, P. Hoffmann, J. Fiedler, and G. Baumgarten
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11951–11963, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11951-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11951-2013, 2013
V. F. Andrioli, D. C. Fritts, P. P. Batista, B. R. Clemesha, and D. Janches
Ann. Geophys., 31, 2123–2135, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-2123-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-2123-2013, 2013
C. Baumann, M. Rapp, A. Kero, and C.-F. Enell
Ann. Geophys., 31, 2049–2062, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-2049-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-2049-2013, 2013
G. Stober, S. Sommer, M. Rapp, and R. Latteck
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2893–2905, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2893-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2893-2013, 2013
V. Matthias, P. Hoffmann, A. Manson, C. Meek, G. Stober, P. Brown, and M. Rapp
Ann. Geophys., 31, 1397–1415, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-1397-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-1397-2013, 2013
V. F. Andrioli, D. C. Fritts, P. P. Batista, and B. R. Clemesha
Ann. Geophys., 31, 889–908, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-889-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-889-2013, 2013
G. Stober, C. Schult, C. Baumann, R. Latteck, and M. Rapp
Ann. Geophys., 31, 473–487, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-473-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-473-2013, 2013
I. Strelnikova and M. Rapp
Ann. Geophys., 31, 359–375, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-359-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-359-2013, 2013
M. Rapp, J. M. C. Plane, B. Strelnikov, G. Stober, S. Ernst, J. Hedin, M. Friedrich, and U.-P. Hoppe
Ann. Geophys., 30, 1661–1673, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-30-1661-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-30-1661-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Subject: Dynamics | Research Activity: Remote Sensing | Altitude Range: Mesosphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Lidar measurements of noctilucent clouds at Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Upper-atmosphere responses to the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha′apai volcanic eruption via acoustic gravity waves and air–sea interaction
Influences of sudden stratospheric warmings on the ionosphere above Okinawa
Gravity waves generated by the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha′apai volcanic eruption and their global propagation in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere observed by meteor radars and modeled with the High-Altitude general Mechanistic Circulation Model
Long-term studies of the summer wind in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere at middle and high latitudes over Europe
Progress in investigating long-term trends in the mesosphere, thermosphere, and ionosphere
Aura/MLS observes and SD-WACCM-X simulates the seasonality, quasi-biennial oscillation and El Niño–Southern Oscillation of the migrating diurnal tide driving upper mesospheric CO primarily through vertical advection
Hydroxyl airglow observations for investigating atmospheric dynamics: results and challenges
Sources of concentric gravity waves generated by a moving mesoscale convective system in southern Brazil
How do gravity waves triggered by a typhoon propagate from the troposphere to the upper atmosphere?
Interhemispheric differences of mesosphere–lower thermosphere winds and tides investigated from three whole-atmosphere models and meteor radar observations
The semiannual oscillation (SAO) in the tropical middle atmosphere and its gravity wave driving in reanalyses and satellite observations
Mesospheric gravity wave activity estimated via airglow imagery, multistatic meteor radar, and SABER data taken during the SIMONe–2018 campaign
Interhemispheric transport of metallic ions within ionospheric sporadic E layers by the lower thermospheric meridional circulation
Formation of an additional density peak in the bottom side of the sodium layer associated with the passage of multiple mesospheric frontal systems
Gravity-wave-perturbed wind shears derived from SABER temperature observations
Comparative study between ground-based observations and NAVGEM-HA analysis data in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region
Analysis of 24 years of mesopause region OH rotational temperature observations at Davis, Antarctica – Part 2: Evidence of a quasi-quadrennial oscillation (QQO) in the polar mesosphere
The MATS satellite mission – gravity wave studies by Mesospheric Airglow/Aerosol Tomography and Spectroscopy
Winter 2018 major sudden stratospheric warming impact on midlatitude mesosphere from microwave radiometer measurements
Climatology of the mesopause relative density using a global distribution of meteor radars
Observations of OH airglow from ground, aircraft, and satellite: investigation of wave-like structures before a minor stratospheric warming
Mesospheric semidiurnal tides and near-12 h waves through jointly analyzing observations of five specular meteor radars from three longitudinal sectors at boreal midlatitudes
Statistical climatology of mid-latitude mesospheric summer echoes characterised by OSWIN (Ostsee-Wind) radar observations
Can VHF radars at polar latitudes measure mean vertical winds in the presence of PMSE?
The global climatology of the intensity of the ionospheric sporadic E layer
Long-term lidar observations of the gravity wave activity near the mesopause at Arecibo
Characterization of flow recirculation zones at the Perdigão site using multi-lidar measurements
Solar 27-day signatures in standard phase height measurements above central Europe
Mesospheric bores at southern midlatitudes observed by ISS-IMAP/VISI: a first report of an undulating wave front
Simultaneous observations of NLCs and MSEs at midlatitudes: implications for formation and advection of ice particles
Long-term observation of midlatitude quasi 2-day waves by a water vapor radiometer
Climatology of mesopause region nocturnal temperature, zonal wind and sodium density observed by sodium lidar over Hefei, China (32° N, 117° E)
Multi-static spatial and angular studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes combining MAARSY and KAIRA
Observation of Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities and gravity waves in the summer mesopause above Andenes in Northern Norway
Temporal variability of tidal and gravity waves during a record long 10-day continuous lidar sounding
Quasi 18 h wave activity in ground-based observed mesospheric H2O over Bern, Switzerland
Winds and temperatures of the Arctic middle atmosphere during January measured by Doppler lidar
Short-period mesospheric gravity waves and their sources at the South Pole
Long-term dynamics of OH * temperatures over central Europe: trends and solar correlations
MIPAS observations of longitudinal oscillations in the mesosphere and the lower thermosphere: climatology of odd-parity daily frequency modes
Neutral atmosphere temperature trends and variability at 90 km, 70 °N, 19 °E, 2003–2014
Response of OH airglow emissions to mesospheric gravity waves and comparisons with full-wave model simulation at a low-latitude Indian station
First continuous ground-based observations of long period oscillations in the vertically resolved wind field of the stratosphere and mesosphere
Semi-annual oscillation (SAO) of the nighttime ionospheric D region as detected through ground-based VLF receivers
Meteor radar quasi 2-day wave observations over 10 years at Collm (51.3° N, 13.0° E)
Observations of planetary waves in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere during stratospheric warming events
Evidence for tropospheric wind shear excitation of high-phase-speed gravity waves reaching the mesosphere using the ray-tracing technique
The quasi 16-day wave in mesospheric water vapor during boreal winter 2011/2012
Quantification of waves in lidar observations of noctilucent clouds at scales from seconds to minutes
Natalie Kaifler, Bernd Kaifler, Markus Rapp, Guiping Liu, Diego Janches, Gerd Baumgarten, and Jose-Luis Hormaechea
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2318, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2318, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Noctilucent clouds (NLC) are silvery clouds that can be viewed during twilight and indicate atmospheric conditions like temperature and water vapor in the upper mesosphere. High-resolution measurements from a remote-sensing laser instrument provide NLC height, brightness and occurrence rate since 2017. Most observations occur in the morning hours, likely caused by strong tidal winds, and NLC ice particles are thus transported from elsewhere to the observing location in the southern hemisphere.
Qinzeng Li, Jiyao Xu, Aditya Riadi Gusman, Hanli Liu, Wei Yuan, Weijun Liu, Yajun Zhu, and Xiao Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8343–8361, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8343-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8343-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) volcanic eruption not only triggered broad-spectrum atmospheric waves but also generated unusual tsunamis which can generate atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs). Multiple strong atmospheric waves were observed in the far-field area of the 2022 HTHH volcano eruption in the upper atmosphere by a ground-based airglow imager network. AGWs caused by tsunamis can propagate to the mesopause region; there is a good match between atmospheric waves and tsunamis.
Klemens Hocke, Wenyue Wang, and Guanyi Ma
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5837–5846, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5837-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5837-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We find a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) effect in the F2 critical frequency (foF2) series for Okinawa. Across 29 SSW events, the amplitude of the semidiurnal cycle of foF2 peaks at the SSW onset in the SSW years. In these years, we find, for the first time, a lunar terdiurnal component with a relative amplitude of about 5 %, and lunar diurnal and semidiurnal components have relative amplitudes of about 10 %. The periods of lunar ionospheric tidal variations align with those of ocean tides.
Gunter Stober, Sharon L. Vadas, Erich Becker, Alan Liu, Alexander Kozlovsky, Diego Janches, Zishun Qiao, Witali Krochin, Guochun Shi, Wen Yi, Jie Zeng, Peter Brown, Denis Vida, Neil Hindley, Christoph Jacobi, Damian Murphy, Ricardo Buriti, Vania Andrioli, Paulo Batista, John Marino, Scott Palo, Denise Thorsen, Masaki Tsutsumi, Njål Gulbrandsen, Satonori Nozawa, Mark Lester, Kathrin Baumgarten, Johan Kero, Evgenia Belova, Nicholas Mitchell, Tracy Moffat-Griffin, and Na Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4851–4873, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4851-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4851-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
On 15 January 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai volcano exploded in a vigorous eruption, causing many atmospheric phenomena reaching from the surface up to space. In this study, we investigate how the mesospheric winds were affected by the volcanogenic gravity waves and estimated their propagation direction and speed. The interplay between model and observations permits us to gain new insights into the vertical coupling through atmospheric gravity waves.
Juliana Jaen, Toralf Renkwitz, Huixin Liu, Christoph Jacobi, Robin Wing, Aleš Kuchař, Masaki Tsutsumi, Njål Gulbrandsen, and Jorge L. Chau
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14871–14887, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14871-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14871-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Investigation of winds is important to understand atmospheric dynamics. In the summer mesosphere and lower thermosphere, there are three main wind flows: the mesospheric westward, the mesopause southward (equatorward), and the lower-thermospheric eastward wind. Combining almost 2 decades of measurements from different radars, we study the trend, their interannual oscillations, and the effects of the geomagnetic activity over these wind maxima.
Jan Laštovička
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5783–5800, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5783-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5783-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Increasing concentration of greenhouse gases, particularly of CO2, in the atmosphere causes well-known heating of the troposphere and surface. However, the increasing concentration of CO2 also affects higher levels of the atmosphere, the stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and ionosphere, where it results in remarkable long-term trends. This article reviews significant progress in investigations of long-term trends in the mesosphere, thermosphere, and ionosphere during the period 2018–2022.
Cornelius Csar Jude H. Salinas, Dong L. Wu, Jae N. Lee, Loren C. Chang, Liying Qian, and Hanli Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1705–1730, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1705-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1705-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Upper mesospheric carbon monoxide's (CO) photochemical lifetime is longer than dynamical timescales. This work uses satellite observations and model simulations to establish that the migrating diurnal tide and its seasonal and interannual variabilities drive CO primarily through vertical advection. Vertical advection is a transport process that is currently difficult to observe. This work thus shows that we can use CO as a tracer for vertical advection across seasonal and interannual timescales.
Sabine Wüst, Michael Bittner, Patrick J. Espy, W. John R. French, and Frank J. Mulligan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1599–1618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1599-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1599-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ground-based OH* airglow measurements have been carried out for almost 100 years. Advanced detector technology has greatly simplified the automatic operation of OH* airglow observing instruments and significantly improved the temporal and/or spatial resolution. Studies based on long-term measurements or including a network of instruments are reviewed, especially in the context of deriving gravity wave properties. Scientific and technical challenges for the next few years are described.
Prosper K. Nyassor, Cristiano M. Wrasse, Igo Paulino, Eliah F. M. T. São Sabbas, José V. Bageston, Kleber P. Naccarato, Delano Gobbi, Cosme A. O. B. Figueiredo, Toyese T. Ayorinde, Hisao Takahashi, and Diego Barros
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15153–15177, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15153-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15153-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This work investigates the sources of concentric gravity waves (CGWs) excited by a moving system of clouds with several overshooting regions on 1–2 October 2019 at São Martinho da Serra. The parameters of these waves were estimated using 2D spectral analysis and their source locations identified using backward ray tracing. Furthermore, the sources of these waves were properly identified by tracking the individual overshooting regions in space and time since the system of clouds was moving.
Qinzeng Li, Jiyao Xu, Hanli Liu, Xiao Liu, and Wei Yuan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12077–12091, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12077-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12077-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We use ground-based airglow network observations, reanalysis data, and satellite observations to explore the propagation process of concentric gravity waves (CGWs) excited by a typhoon between the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. We find that CGWs in the mesosphere are generated directly by the typhoon but the CGW observed in the thermosphere may be excited by CGW dissipation in the mesosphere, rather than directly excited by a typhoon and propagated to the thermosphere.
Gunter Stober, Ales Kuchar, Dimitry Pokhotelov, Huixin Liu, Han-Li Liu, Hauke Schmidt, Christoph Jacobi, Kathrin Baumgarten, Peter Brown, Diego Janches, Damian Murphy, Alexander Kozlovsky, Mark Lester, Evgenia Belova, Johan Kero, and Nicholas Mitchell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13855–13902, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13855-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13855-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Little is known about the climate change of wind systems in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere at the edge of space at altitudes from 70–110 km. Meteor radars represent a well-accepted remote sensing technique to measure winds at these altitudes. Here we present a state-of-the-art climatological interhemispheric comparison using continuous and long-lasting observations from worldwide distributed meteor radars from the Arctic to the Antarctic and sophisticated general circulation models.
Manfred Ern, Mohamadou Diallo, Peter Preusse, Martin G. Mlynczak, Michael J. Schwartz, Qian Wu, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13763–13795, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13763-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13763-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Details of the driving of the semiannual oscillation (SAO) of the tropical winds in the middle atmosphere are still not known. We investigate the SAO and its driving by small-scale gravity waves (GWs) using satellite data and different reanalyses. In a large altitude range, GWs mainly drive the SAO westerlies, but in the upper mesosphere GWs seem to drive both SAO easterlies and westerlies. Reanalyses reproduce some features of the SAO but are limited by model-inherent damping at upper levels.
Fabio Vargas, Jorge L. Chau, Harikrishnan Charuvil Asokan, and Michael Gerding
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13631–13654, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13631-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13631-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We study large- and small-scale gravity wave cases observed in both airglow imagery and meteor radar data obtained during the SIMONe campaign carried out in early November 2018. We calculate the intrinsic features of several waves and estimate their impact in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region via transferring energy and momentum to the atmosphere. We also associate cases of large-scale waves with secondary wave generation in the stratosphere.
Bingkun Yu, Xianghui Xue, Christopher J. Scott, Jianfei Wu, Xinan Yue, Wuhu Feng, Yutian Chi, Daniel R. Marsh, Hanli Liu, Xiankang Dou, and John M. C. Plane
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4219–4230, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4219-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4219-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A long-standing mystery of metal ions within Es layers in the Earth's upper atmosphere is the marked seasonal dependence, with a summer maximum and a winter minimum. We report a large-scale winter-to-summer transport of metal ions from 6-year multi-satellite observations and worldwide ground-based stations. A global atmospheric circulation is responsible for the phenomenon. Our results emphasise the effect of this atmospheric circulation on the transport of composition in the upper atmosphere.
Viswanathan Lakshmi Narayanan, Satonori Nozawa, Shin-Ichiro Oyama, Ingrid Mann, Kazuo Shiokawa, Yuichi Otsuka, Norihito Saito, Satoshi Wada, Takuya D. Kawahara, and Toru Takahashi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2343–2361, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2343-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2343-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In the past, additional sodium peaks occurring above the main sodium layer of the upper mesosphere were discussed. Here, formation of an additional sodium peak below the main sodium layer peak is discussed in detail. The event coincided with passage of multiple mesospheric bores, which are step-like disturbances occurring in the upper mesosphere. Hence, this work highlights the importance of such mesospheric bores in causing significant changes to the minor species concentration in a short time.
Xiao Liu, Jiyao Xu, Jia Yue, and Hanli Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14437–14456, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14437-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14437-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Large wind shears in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere are recognized as a common phenomenon. Simulation and ground-based observations show that the main contributor of large wind shears is gravity waves. We present a method of deriving wind shears induced by gravity waves according to the linear theory and using the global temperature observations by SABER (Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry). Our results agree well with observations and model simulations.
Gunter Stober, Kathrin Baumgarten, John P. McCormack, Peter Brown, and Jerry Czarnecki
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11979–12010, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11979-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11979-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a first cross-comparison of meteor ground-based observations and a meteorological analysis (NAVGEM-HA) to compare a seasonal climatology of winds and temperatures at the mesosphere/lower thermosphere. The validation is insofar unique as we not only compare the mean state but also provide a detailed comparison of the short time variability of atmospheric tidal waves. Our analysis questions previous results claiming the importance of lunar tides.
W. John R. French, Andrew R. Klekociuk, and Frank J. Mulligan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8691–8708, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8691-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8691-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We explore a quasi-quadrennial oscillation (QQO; 3–4 K amplitude, ~ 4-year period) in mesopause region temperatures observed in 24 years of hydroxyl airglow measurements over Davis, Antarctica (68° S, 78° E). Correlation and composite analysis using meteorological reanalysis and satellite data reveals complex patterns on the QQO timescale in both hemispheres. Modulation of the meridional circulation, linked to the propagation of gravity waves, plays a significant role in producing the QQO response.
Jörg Gumbel, Linda Megner, Ole Martin Christensen, Nickolay Ivchenko, Donal P. Murtagh, Seunghyuk Chang, Joachim Dillner, Terese Ekebrand, Gabriel Giono, Arvid Hammar, Jonas Hedin, Bodil Karlsson, Mikael Krus, Anqi Li, Steven McCallion, Georgi Olentšenko, Soojong Pak, Woojin Park, Jordan Rouse, Jacek Stegman, and Georg Witt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 431–455, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-431-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-431-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Gravity waves can link together atmospheric conditions over large distances. MATS is a new Swedish satellite that will study gravity waves at altitudes around 80–110 km. MATS will take images of emissions from excited molecules, so-called airglow, and of the highest clouds in our atmosphere, so-called noctilucent clouds. These measurements will be analysed to provide three-dimensional wave structures and a comprehensive picture of wave interactions in the atmosphere.
Yuke Wang, Valerii Shulga, Gennadi Milinevsky, Aleksey Patoka, Oleksandr Evtushevsky, Andrew Klekociuk, Wei Han, Asen Grytsai, Dmitry Shulga, Valery Myshenko, and Oleksandr Antyufeyev
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10303–10317, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10303-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10303-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) dramatically changed atmospheric conditions. This event is accompanied by a sharp increase in the polar stratosphere temperature, zonal wind reverse, and strong changes in the polar mesosphere. These changes affect even the midlatitude mesosphere, which is not widely covered by observations. Our newly installed microwave radiometer allowed for studying mesospheric zonal wind and CO variations to understand the SSW 2018 effects at midlatitudes.
Wen Yi, Xianghui Xue, Iain M. Reid, Damian J. Murphy, Chris M. Hall, Masaki Tsutsumi, Baiqi Ning, Guozhu Li, Robert A. Vincent, Jinsong Chen, Jianfei Wu, Tingdi Chen, and Xiankang Dou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 7567–7581, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7567-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7567-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The seasonal variations in the mesopause densities, especially with regard to its global structure, are still unclear. In this study, we report the climatology of the mesopause density estimated using multiyear observations from nine meteor radars from Arctic to Antarctic latitudes. The results reveal a significant AO and SAO in mesopause density, an asymmetry between the two polar regions and evidence of intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs), perhaps associated with the ISOs of the troposphere.
Sabine Wüst, Carsten Schmidt, Patrick Hannawald, Michael Bittner, Martin G. Mlynczak, and James M. Russell III
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6401–6418, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6401-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6401-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In winter 2016, the camera system FAIM derived information about the OH* airglow at ca. 86 km height during six flights on board the research aircraft FALCON in northern Scandinavia. Coincident ground- and satellite-based measurements (GRIPS and TIMED-SABER) complete the data set. The data are analysed with respect to the temporal and spatial evolution of small-scale atmospheric dynamics just before a minor stratospheric warming. Special emphasis is placed on possible instability features.
Maosheng He and Jorge Luis Chau
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5993–6006, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5993-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5993-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We propose an approach to resolve waves with multiple spatial scales at a given frequency using ground-based detectors from few longitudinal sectors. The approach is used to investigate near-12 h waves. Results suggest that broadly reported enhancements of two solar nonmigrating tides during sudden stratospheric warming events are just low-frequency-resolved signatures of two neighboring waves. The tides do not enhance.
Dimitry Pokhotelov, Gunter Stober, and Jorge Luis Chau
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5251–5258, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5251-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5251-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Twelve years of radar observations from a mid-latitude location in Kühlungsborn, Germany have been analysed to study characteristics of mesospheric summer echoes (MSEs). The statistical analysis shows that MSEs have a strong daytime preference and early summer seasonal preference. It is demonstrated that the meridional wind transport from polar regions is the important controlling factor for MSEs, while no clear connection to geomagnetic and solar activity is found.
Nikoloz Gudadze, Gunter Stober, and Jorge L. Chau
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4485–4497, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4485-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4485-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We show a possibility of measuring mean vertical winds during the summer months using polar mesosphere summer echo (PMSE) observations. Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System observations of PMSE five-beam radial velocities are analysed to obtain the results. We found that sampling issues are the reason for bias in vertical wind measurements at the edges of PMSE altitudes. However, the PMSE is a good tracer for the mean vertical wind estimation at the central altitudes with its peak occurrence.
Bingkun Yu, Xianghui Xue, Xin'an Yue, Chengyun Yang, Chao Yu, Xiankang Dou, Baiqi Ning, and Lianhuan Hu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4139–4151, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4139-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4139-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
It reports the long-term climatology of the intensity of Es layers from COSMIC satellites. The global Es maps present high-resolution spatial distributions and seasonal dependence. It mainly occurs at mid-latitudes and polar regions. Based on wind shear theory, simulation results indicate the convergence of vertical ion velocity could partially explain the Es seasonal dependence and some disagreements between observations and simulations suggest other processes play roles in the Es variations.
Xianchang Yue, Jonathan S. Friedman, Qihou Zhou, Xiongbin Wu, and Jens Lautenbach
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 3207–3221, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3207-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3207-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Using 11 years of lidar temperature data, the seasonal variations (SVs) of gravity waves (GWs) are addressed in the tropical mesopause region, shown to be clearly associated with the SVs of zonal winds reported in the literature. The SVs of GWs are determined by the filtering effect of the local background wind. The altitudes of GW potential energy have a close relation to the upper mesospheric temperature inversion layers (TILs), which provides support for the formation mechanism of TILs.
Robert Menke, Nikola Vasiljević, Jakob Mann, and Julie K. Lundquist
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2713–2723, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2713-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2713-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This research utilizes several months of lidar measurements from the Perdigão 2017 campaign to investigate flow recirculation zones that occur at the two parallel ridges at the measurement site in Portugal. We found that recirculation occurs in over 50 % of the time when the wind direction is perpendicular to the direction of the ridges. Moreover, we show three-dimensional changes of the zones along the ridges and the implications of recirculation on wind turbines that are operating downstream.
Christian von Savigny, Dieter H. W. Peters, and Günter Entzian
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2079–2093, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2079-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2079-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates solar effects in radio reflection height observations in the ionospheric D region at an altitude of about 80 km at northern midlatitudes. The analyzed time series covers almost six solar cycles. Statistically significant solar 27-day and 11-year signatures are identified. However, the driving mechanisms are not fully understood. We also provide evidence for dynamical effects on the radio reflection heights with periods close to the solar rotational cycle.
Yuta Hozumi, Akinori Saito, Takeshi Sakanoi, Atsushi Yamazaki, and Keisuke Hosokawa
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 16399–16407, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16399-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16399-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Spatial structures of wave disturbances in the upper atmosphere were investigated with space-borne imaging from the International Space Station. The wave disturbance occurred around an altitude of 100 km, and is called a mesospheric bore. The large-scale structure of mesospheric bores has not been fully captured by previous ground-based imagers, but the space-borne imaging captured a bore with a wide field of view, and showed that bores can have a large undulating wave front as long as 2000 km.
Michael Gerding, Jochen Zöllner, Marius Zecha, Kathrin Baumgarten, Josef Höffner, Gunter Stober, and Franz-Josef Lübken
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 15569–15580, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15569-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15569-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We describe the first comparative study of noctilucent clouds (NLCs) and mesospheric summer echoes at midlatitudes. Therefore, this study compares fresh clouds (small particles) with fully evolved clouds in the mesosphere, hinting at their evolution. It is shown that, in contrast to higher latitudes, here only a thin layer of fresh particles exist above the NLCs. This gives evidence that NLCs are not formed locally but are typically advected. This needs to be acknowledged in trend studies.
Martin Lainer, Klemens Hocke, and Niklaus Kämpfer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 12061–12074, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12061-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12061-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
A long continuous record (in total 7 years) of middle atmospheric water vapor at the midlatitude NDACC station in Bern is investigated to study quasi 2-day wave oscillations (Q2DWs). We present monthly climatologies of the wave amplitudes and show the periods that the Q2DWs developed. What we observe is very-high-frequency variability. An autobicoherence analysis revealed nonlinear phase couplings between Q2DWs and other atmospheric waves. Our results are useful for model validation purposes.
Tao Li, Chao Ban, Xin Fang, Jing Li, Zhaopeng Wu, Wuhu Feng, John M. C. Plane, Jiangang Xiong, Daniel R. Marsh, Michael J. Mills, and Xiankang Dou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11683–11695, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11683-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11683-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
A total of 154 nights of observations by the USTC Na temperature and wind lidar (32° N, 117° E) suggest significant seasonal variability in the mesopause. Chemistry plays an important role in Na atom formation. More than half of the observed gravity wave (GW) momentum flux (MF), whose divergence determines the GW forcing, is induced by short-period (10 min–2 h) waves. The anticorrelation between MF and zonal wind (U) suggests strong filtering of short-period GWs by semiannual oscillation U.
Jorge L. Chau, Derek McKay, Juha P. Vierinen, Cesar La Hoz, Thomas Ulich, Markku Lehtinen, and Ralph Latteck
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 9547–9560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9547-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9547-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Combining a phased-array power radar and a phased-array radio telescope, we have been able to identify and characterized horizontal structures and movement of noctilucent clouds, but at 3 m scales instead of optical scales. As a byproduct of our observations, we have studied their angular dependence. We show a new alternative to study these clouds on routine basis and therefore study the atmospheric dynamics that modulate them.
Gunter Stober, Svenja Sommer, Carsten Schult, Ralph Latteck, and Jorge L. Chau
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 6721–6732, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6721-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6721-2018, 2018
Kathrin Baumgarten, Michael Gerding, Gerd Baumgarten, and Franz-Josef Lübken
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 371–384, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-371-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-371-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Gravity waves (GWs) as well as solar tides are a key driving mechanism for the circulation in the Earth's atmosphere. The temporal variation of these waves is studied using a record long 10-day continuous Rayleigh–Mie–Raman lidar sounding at midlatitudes. This data set shows a large variability of these waves on timescales of a few days and therefore provides new insights into wave intermittency phenomena, which can help to improve model simulations.
Martin Lainer, Klemens Hocke, Rolf Rüfenacht, and Niklaus Kämpfer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 14905–14917, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14905-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14905-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We report on middle-atmospheric water vapor measurements above Bern from the ground-based microwave radiometer MIAWARA (NDACC affiliated) during two winter periods of 6 months. Quasi 18 h oscillations of mesospheric water vapor above 0.1 hPa are observed. Further, the 18 h wave is seen in a zonal wind data set from the Doppler wind radiometer WIRA. Inertia-gravity-wave-induced fluctuations or a nonlinear coupling between tides and quasi 2-day waves are considered as possible drivers.
Jens Hildebrand, Gerd Baumgarten, Jens Fiedler, and Franz-Josef Lübken
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 13345–13359, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13345-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13345-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We present altitude profiles of winds and temperatures in the Arctic strato- and mesosphere obtained during three Januaries. The data show large year-to-year variations. We compare the observations to model data. For monthly mean profiles we find good agreement below 55 km altitude but also differences of up to 20 K and 20 m s-1 above. The fluctuations during single nights indicate gravity waves. The kinetic energy of such waves is typically 5 to 10 times larger than their potential energy.
Dhvanit Mehta, Andrew J. Gerrard, Yusuke Ebihara, Allan T. Weatherwax, and Louis J. Lanzerotti
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 911–919, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-911-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-911-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents an investigation into the sources of atmospheric gravity waves observed at 90 km above Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. By combining gravity wave characteristics obtained from imager data and a numerical model for 3-D wave propagation through the atmosphere, we find that the development of baroclinic instabilities via displacement of the polar vortex is a significant and unique source of vertically propagating, short-period (< 1 h) gravity waves in the region.
Christoph Kalicinsky, Peter Knieling, Ralf Koppmann, Dirk Offermann, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, and Johannes Wintel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15033–15047, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15033-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15033-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The analysis of temperatures in the mesopause region between 1988 to 2015 shows, besides the known correlation with the 11-year solar activity cycle, a trend reversal in 2008 that can be described by a long-term oscillation. Understanding such long periodic oscillations in the atmosphere is of prime importance for climate modelling and predictions of future trends.
Maya García-Comas, Francisco González-Galindo, Bernd Funke, Angela Gardini, Aythami Jurado-Navarro, Manuel López-Puertas, and William E. Ward
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 11019–11041, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11019-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11019-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, for the first time, temperature longitudinal oscillations are derived from 20 to 150 km from a single instrument. A climatology of amplitudes and phases of zonal waves with odd daily frequencies is presented on a global scale. The interannual variability in amplitudes of the migrating modes shows a QBO in the MLT, which is probably originated in the stratosphere. The results are useful for testing general circulation models considering tidal effects in the MLT region.
Silje Eriksen Holmen, Chris M. Hall, and Masaki Tsutsumi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7853–7866, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7853-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7853-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric temperatures at 90 km height above Tromsø, Norway, from 2003 to 2014 have been determined using meteor radar. Periodic oscillations ranging from ~ 9 days to a year were found in the dataset, which were related to the large-scale circulation in the middle atmosphere and with wave activity. A trend analysis was performed, revealing an overall weak cooling trend from 2003 to 2014, which is in line with other recent studies on mesopause region (~ 90 km) temperature trends.
Rupesh N. Ghodpage, Michael P. Hickey, Alok K. Taori, Devendraa Siingh, and Parashram T. Patil
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5611–5621, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5611-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5611-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Gravity-wave-induced oscillations have been characterized over Kolhapur (16.8°N and 74.2°E), India, using the adiabatic variations in OH airglow intensity and temperature data. The results show that there exist large deviations from one investigation to the other. We also use a full-wave model to simulate the response of OH emission to the wave motion and compare the results with observed values. This report discusses the observed wave characteristics and cause of the noted difference.
Rolf Rüfenacht, Klemens Hocke, and Niklaus Kämpfer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4915–4925, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4915-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4915-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We quantitatively analyze oscillations with periods from 5 to 50 days in horizontal wind profiles between mid-stratosphere and mesopause based on more than 44 months of data from high, mid- and low latitudes measured by a novel instrument. For the first time, long time series of continuous wind measurements allow direct observations of dynamics throughout this altitude range. The observations agree remarkably well with the ECMWF model in the stratosphere but discrepancies exist in the mesosphere.
Israel Silber, Colin Price, and Craig J. Rodger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3279–3288, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3279-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3279-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We report for the first time that the semi-annual oscillation (SAO) is one of the dominant oscillations in the nighttime lower ionosphere, using ground-based measurements of VLF signals reflected off the lower part of the ionosphere. We conclude that the origins of this oscillation are oscillatory changes of the D region's electrical characteristics, driven by NOx transport from the lower thermosphere. This oscillation should be considered in lower ionospheric and VLF wave propagation models.
F. Lilienthal and Ch. Jacobi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9917–9927, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9917-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9917-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The quasi 2-day wave (QTDW), one of the most striking features in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere, is analyzed using meteor radar measurements at Collm (51°N, 13°E) during 2004-2014. The QTDW has periods lasting between 43 and 52h during strong summer bursts, and weaker enhancements are found during winter. A correlation between QTDW amplitudes and wind shear suggests baroclinic instability to be a likely forcing mechanism.
N. H. Stray, Y. J. Orsolini, P. J. Espy, V. Limpasuvan, and R. E. Hibbins
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 4997–5005, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4997-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4997-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Planetary wave activity measured in the mesosphere to lower thermosphere is shown to increase drastically after strong stratospheric polar cap wind reversals associated with sudden stratospheric warmings. In addition, a moderate but significant correlation was found between planetary wave enhancement in the mesosphere to lower thermosphere and all stratospheric polar cap wind reversals, irrespective of the strength of the reversal.
M. Pramitha, M. Venkat Ratnam, A. Taori, B. V. Krishna Murthy, D. Pallamraju, and S. Vijaya Bhaskar Rao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 2709–2721, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2709-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2709-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Sources and propagation characteristics of high-frequency gravity waves observed in the mesosphere using airglow emissions from Gadanki and Hyderabad, India, are investigated using reverse ray tracing. Wave amplitudes are also traced back, including both radiative and diffusive damping. Interestingly, large vertical shears in the horizontal wind are noticed near the ray terminal points (at 10-12km altitude) and are thus identified to be the source for generating the observed gravity waves.
D. Scheiben, B. Tschanz, K. Hocke, N. Kämpfer, S. Ka, and J. J. Oh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6511–6522, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6511-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6511-2014, 2014
N. Kaifler, G. Baumgarten, J. Fiedler, and F.-J. Lübken
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11757–11768, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11757-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11757-2013, 2013
Cited articles
Baumgarten, G. and Fritts, D. C.: Quantifying Kelvin-Helmholtz instability dynamics observed in noctilucent clouds: 1. Methods and observations, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 119, 9324–9337, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021832, 2014. a
Baumgarten, G., Fiedler, J., Fricke, K. H., Gerding, M., Hervig, M., Hoffmann, P., Müller, N., Pautet, P.-D., Rapp, M., Robert, C., Rusch, D., von Savigny, C., and Singer, W.: The noctilucent cloud (NLC) display during the ECOMA/MASS sounding rocket flights on 3 August 2007: morphology on global to local scales, Ann. Geophys., 27, 953–965, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-27-953-2009, 2009. a
Berger, U., Baumgarten, G., Fiedler, J., and Lübken, F.-J.: A new description of probability density distributions of polar mesospheric clouds, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4685–4702, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4685-2019, 2019. a
Chandran, A., Rusch, D. W., Thomas, G. E., Palo, S. E., Baumgarten, G., Jensen, E. J., and Merkel, A. W.: Atmospheric gravity wave effects on polar mesospheric clouds: A comparison of numerical simulations from CARMA 2D with AIM observations, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 117, D20104, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD017794, 2012. a
Chu, X., Yamashita, C., Espy, P. J., Nott, G. J., Jensen, E. J., Liu, H.-L., Huang, W., and Thayer, J. P.: Responses of polar mesospheric cloud brightness to stratospheric gravity waves at the South Pole and Rothera, Antarctica, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phy., 71, 434–445, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2008.10.002, 2009. a
Fritts, D. C., Isler, J. R., Thomas, G. E., and Andreassen, O.: Wave breaking signatures in noctilucent clouds, Geophys. Res. Lett., 20, 2039–2042, https://doi.org/10.1029/93GL01982, 1993. a
Fritts, D. C., Miller, A. D., Kjellstrand, C. B., Geach, C., Williams, B. P., Kaifler, B., Kaifler, N., Jones, G., Rapp, M., Limon, M., Reimuller, J., Wang, L., Hanany, S., Gisinger, S., Zhao, Y., Stober, G., and Randall, C. E.: PMC Turbo: Studying Gravity Wave and Instability Dynamics in the Summer Mesosphere Using Polar Mesospheric Cloud Imaging and Profiling From a Stratospheric Balloon, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, 6423–6443, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD030298, 2019. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h
Fritts, D. C., Kaifler, N., Kaifler, B., Geach, C., Kjellstrand, C. B., Williams, B. P., Eckermann, S. D., Miller, A. D., Rapp, M., Jones, G., Limon, M., Reimuller, J., and Wang, L.: Mesospheric Bore Evolution and Instability Dynamics Observed in PMC Turbo Imaging and Rayleigh Lidar Profiling Over Northeastern Canada on 13 July 2018, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 125, e2019JD032037, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD032037, 2020. a, b, c, d
Gao, H., Li, L., Bu, L., Zhang, Q., Tang, Y., and Wang, Z.: Effect of Small-Scale Gravity Waves on Polar Mesospheric Clouds Observed From CIPS/AIM, J. Geophys. Res.-Space, 123, 4026–4045, https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JA024855, 2018. a
Geach, C., Hanany, S., Fritts, D. C., Kaifler, B., Kaifler, N., Kjellstrand, C. B., Williams, B. P., Eckermann, S. D., Miller, A. D., Jones, G., and Reimuller, J.: Gravity Wave Breaking and Vortex Ring Formation Observed by PMC Turbo, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 125, e2020JD033038, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033038, 2020. a, b, c, d
Innis, J. L., Klekociuk, A. R., Morris, R. J., Cunningham, A. P., Graham, A. D., and Murphy, D. J.: A study of the relationship between stratospheric gravity waves and polar mesospheric clouds at Davis Antarctica, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 113, D14102, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009031, 2008. a
Jensen, E. J. and Thomas, G. E.: Numerical simulations of the effects of gravity waves on noctilucent clouds, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 99, 3421–3430, https://doi.org/10.1029/93JD01736, 1994. a
Kaifler, B., Rempel, D., Roßi, P., Büdenbender, C., Kaifler, N., and Baturkin, V.: A technical description of the Balloon Lidar Experiment (BOLIDE), Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5681–5695, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5681-2020, 2020. a
Kaifler, N.: Polar mesospheric clouds from the Balloon Lidar Experiment (BOLIDE) during the PMC Turbo balloon mission, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5722385, 2021. a
Kaifler, N., Kaifler, B., Rapp, M., and Fritts, D. C.: The polar mesospheric cloud dataset of the Balloon Lidar Experiment (BOLIDE), Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4923–4934, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4923-2022, 2022. a, b, c
Kjellstrand, C. B., Jones, G., Geach, C., Williams, B. P., Fritts, D. C., Miller, A., Hanany, S., Limon, M., and Reimuller, J.: The PMC Turbo Balloon Mission to Measure Gravity Waves and Turbulence in Polar Mesospheric Clouds: Camera, Telemetry, and Software Performance, Earth and Space Science, 7, e2020EA001238, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001238, 2020. a
Kjellstrand, C. B., Fritts, D. C., Miller, A. D., Williams, B. P., Kaifler, N., Geach, C., Hanany, S., Kaifler, B., Jones, G., Limon, M., Reimuller, J., and Wang, L.: Multi-Scale Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Dynamics Observed by PMC Turbo on 12 July 2018: 1. Secondary Instabilities and Billow Interactions, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 127, e2021JD036232, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD036232, 2022. a, b, c
Miller, A. D., Fritts, D. C., Chapman, D., Jones, G., Limon, M., Araujo, D., Didier, J., Hillbrand, S., Kjellstrand, C. B., Korotkov, A., Tucker, G., Vinokurov, Y., Wan, K., and Wang, L.: Stratospheric imaging of polar mesospheric clouds: A new window on small-scale atmospheric dynamics, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 6058–6065, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL064758, 2015. a
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: Coordinated Data Analysis Web, https://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/, last access: 16 January 2023. a
Rapp, M., Lübken, F.-J., Müllemann, A., Thomas, G. E., and Jensen, E. J.: Small-scale temperature variations in the vicinity of NLC: Experimental and model results, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 107, AAC 11-1–AAC 11-20, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD001241, 2002. a, b
Reimuller, J., Thayer, J., Baumgarten, G., Chandran, A., Hulley, B., Rusch, D., Nielsen, K., and Lumpe, J.: Synchronized imagery of noctilucent clouds at the day–night terminator using airborne and spaceborne platforms, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phy., 73, 2091–2096, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2010.11.022, 2011. a
Rong, P., Yue, J., Russell III, J. M., Siskind, D. E., and Randall, C. E.: Universal power law of the gravity wave manifestation in the AIM CIPS polar mesospheric cloud images, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 883–899, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-883-2018, 2018. a
Shraiman, B. I. and Siggia, E. D.: Scalar turbulence, Nature, 405, 639–646, https://doi.org/10.1038/35015000, 2000. a
Szypuła, B.: Quality assessment of DEM derived from topographic maps for geomorphometric purposes, Open Geosci., 11, 843–865, https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2019-0066, 2019. a
Thayer, J. P., Rapp, M., Gerrard, A. J., Gudmundsson, E., and Kane, T. J.: Gravity-wave influences on Arctic mesospheric clouds as determined by a Rayleigh lidar at Sondrestrom, Greenland, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, 8449, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002363, 2003.
a
Thurairajah, B., Bailey, S. M., Siskind, D. E., Randall, C. E., Taylor, M. J., and Russell, J. M.: Case study of an ice void structure in polar mesospheric clouds, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phy., 104, 224–233, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2013.02.001, 2013. a
Warhaft, Z.: Passive Scalars in Turbulent Flows, Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 32, 203–240, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.fluid.32.1.203, 2000. a
Wilms, H., Rapp, M., Hoffmann, P., Fiedler, J., and Baumgarten, G.: Gravity wave influence on NLC: experimental results from ALOMAR, 69∘ N, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11951–11963, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11951-2013, 2013. a
Witt, G.: Height, structure and displacements of noctilucent clouds, Tellus, 14, 1–18, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v14i1.9524, 1962. a
Short summary
We used a lidar to measure polar mesospheric clouds from a balloon floating in the upper stratosphere. The thin-layered ice clouds at 83 km altitude are perturbed by waves. The high-resolution lidar soundings reveal small-scale structures induced by the breaking of those waves. We study these patterns and find that they occur very often. We show their morphology and discuss associated dynamical physical processes, which help to interpret case studies and to guide modelling.
We used a lidar to measure polar mesospheric clouds from a balloon floating in the upper...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint