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Abstract
The quasi-2-day wave is known as a strong and transient perturbation in the middle and upper atmosphere that often occurs shortly after solstice. The excitation mechanisms of this transient wave have been discussed for years, but no clear answer has yet been attained. In this paper, propagating characteristics of the 2-day wave are studied based on 8-mon temperature measurements from the Microwave Limb Sounder onboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. The studies are focused on the wave events that happened in January 1993 and in July–August 1993. The observations suggests that winter planetary waves could be responsible for triggering the summer 2-day wave through long penetration into the summer stratosphere. A connection is evident in the evolution of the wave amplitude between the summer 2-day wave generation and winter wave penetration. The data also suggest that the enhancement of the wave amplitude is a manifestation of both a local unstable wave and a global normal-mode Rossby wave.
Abstract
The quasi-2-day wave is known as a strong and transient perturbation in the middle and upper atmosphere that often occurs shortly after solstice. The excitation mechanisms of this transient wave have been discussed for years, but no clear answer has yet been attained. In this paper, propagating characteristics of the 2-day wave are studied based on 8-mon temperature measurements from the Microwave Limb Sounder onboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. The studies are focused on the wave events that happened in January 1993 and in July–August 1993. The observations suggests that winter planetary waves could be responsible for triggering the summer 2-day wave through long penetration into the summer stratosphere. A connection is evident in the evolution of the wave amplitude between the summer 2-day wave generation and winter wave penetration. The data also suggest that the enhancement of the wave amplitude is a manifestation of both a local unstable wave and a global normal-mode Rossby wave.
Abstract
Measurements of stratospheric methane (CH4) and water vapor (H2O) are used to investigate seasonal and interannual variability in stratospheric transport. Data are from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) spanning 1991–97. Profile measurements are binned according to analyzed potential vorticity fields (equivalent latitude mapping), and seasonal cycles are fit using harmonic regression analysis. Methane data from the UARS Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer and water vapor from the Microwave Limb Sounder are also used to fill in winter polar latitudes (where HALOE measurements are unavailable), yielding complete global seasonal cycles. These data reveal well-known seasonal variations with novel detail, including 1) the presence of enhanced latitudinal gradients (mixing barriers) in the subtropics and across the polar vortices, 2) strong descent inside the polar vortices during winter and spring, and 3) vigorous seasonality in the tropical upper stratosphere, related to seasonal upwelling and the semiannual oscillation. The observed variations are in agreement with aspects of the mean meridional circulation derived from stratospheric meteorological analyses. Interannual variations are also investigated, and a majority of the variance is found to be coherent with the equatorial quasibiennial oscillation (QBO). Strong QBO influence is found in the tropical upper stratosphere: the double-peaked “rabbit ears” structure occurs primarily during QBO westerlies. The QBO also modulates the latitudinal position of the tropical “reservoir” in the middle stratosphere.
Abstract
Measurements of stratospheric methane (CH4) and water vapor (H2O) are used to investigate seasonal and interannual variability in stratospheric transport. Data are from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) spanning 1991–97. Profile measurements are binned according to analyzed potential vorticity fields (equivalent latitude mapping), and seasonal cycles are fit using harmonic regression analysis. Methane data from the UARS Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer and water vapor from the Microwave Limb Sounder are also used to fill in winter polar latitudes (where HALOE measurements are unavailable), yielding complete global seasonal cycles. These data reveal well-known seasonal variations with novel detail, including 1) the presence of enhanced latitudinal gradients (mixing barriers) in the subtropics and across the polar vortices, 2) strong descent inside the polar vortices during winter and spring, and 3) vigorous seasonality in the tropical upper stratosphere, related to seasonal upwelling and the semiannual oscillation. The observed variations are in agreement with aspects of the mean meridional circulation derived from stratospheric meteorological analyses. Interannual variations are also investigated, and a majority of the variance is found to be coherent with the equatorial quasibiennial oscillation (QBO). Strong QBO influence is found in the tropical upper stratosphere: the double-peaked “rabbit ears” structure occurs primarily during QBO westerlies. The QBO also modulates the latitudinal position of the tropical “reservoir” in the middle stratosphere.
Abstract
The first two years of MLS temperature and ozone data are used to examine the tropical upper-stratospheric SAO. Time series analysis revealed that the strongest amplitudes of the SAO occurred near the equator at 2 mb for temperature and 5 mb for ozone, consistent with previous observations. The first cycle of each calendar year was observed to have a much higher amplitude than the second cycle except for the warm phase in late 1991. Interannual variability in the strength of the SAO, such as the much stronger warm phase of late 1991 as compared to late 1992, was significant and could be partly attributed to the QBO in zonal wind.
Abstract
The first two years of MLS temperature and ozone data are used to examine the tropical upper-stratospheric SAO. Time series analysis revealed that the strongest amplitudes of the SAO occurred near the equator at 2 mb for temperature and 5 mb for ozone, consistent with previous observations. The first cycle of each calendar year was observed to have a much higher amplitude than the second cycle except for the warm phase in late 1991. Interannual variability in the strength of the SAO, such as the much stronger warm phase of late 1991 as compared to late 1992, was significant and could be partly attributed to the QBO in zonal wind.
Abstract
Multiwavelength observations of Antarctic and midlatitude aerosol by the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) experiment on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite are used to demonstrate a technique that identifies the location of polar stratospheric clouds. The technique discussed uses the normalized area of the triangle formed by the aerosol extinctions at 925, 1257, and 1605 cm−1 (10.8, 8.0, and 6.2 μm) to derive a spectral aerosol measure M of the aerosol spectrum. Mie calculations for spherical particles and T-matrix calculations for spheroidal particles are used to generate theoretical spectral extinction curves for sulfate and polar stratospheric cloud particles. The values of the spectral aerosol measure M for the sulfate and polar stratospheric cloud particles are shown to be different. Aerosol extinction data, corresponding to temperatures between 180 and 220 K at a pressure of 46 hPa (near 21-km altitude) for 18 August 1992, are used to demonstrate the technique. Thermodynamic calculations, based upon frost-point calculations and laboratory phase-equilibrium studies of nitric acid trihydrate, are used to predict the location of nitric acid trihydrate cloud particles.
Abstract
Multiwavelength observations of Antarctic and midlatitude aerosol by the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) experiment on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite are used to demonstrate a technique that identifies the location of polar stratospheric clouds. The technique discussed uses the normalized area of the triangle formed by the aerosol extinctions at 925, 1257, and 1605 cm−1 (10.8, 8.0, and 6.2 μm) to derive a spectral aerosol measure M of the aerosol spectrum. Mie calculations for spherical particles and T-matrix calculations for spheroidal particles are used to generate theoretical spectral extinction curves for sulfate and polar stratospheric cloud particles. The values of the spectral aerosol measure M for the sulfate and polar stratospheric cloud particles are shown to be different. Aerosol extinction data, corresponding to temperatures between 180 and 220 K at a pressure of 46 hPa (near 21-km altitude) for 18 August 1992, are used to demonstrate the technique. Thermodynamic calculations, based upon frost-point calculations and laboratory phase-equilibrium studies of nitric acid trihydrate, are used to predict the location of nitric acid trihydrate cloud particles.
Abstract
The microwave spectrometer on the Nimbus 5 earth observatory satellite has been used to measure thermal radiation in five frequency bands between 22.235 and 58.8 GHz. Clouds were observed to affect less than 0.5% of the temperature profile soundings. Most such effects occur in the intertropical convergence zone and alter the inferred temperature profile by less than a few degrees Centigrade. These effects are evident as cold spots at 53.65 GHz and can be identified by virtue of their small spatial extent, in contrast to smooth variations characteristic of normal atmospheric temperature fields. These effects at 53.65 GHz are sufficiently well correlated with inferred liquid water abundances that they can be used for detecting major storm systems over both land and sea.
Abstract
The microwave spectrometer on the Nimbus 5 earth observatory satellite has been used to measure thermal radiation in five frequency bands between 22.235 and 58.8 GHz. Clouds were observed to affect less than 0.5% of the temperature profile soundings. Most such effects occur in the intertropical convergence zone and alter the inferred temperature profile by less than a few degrees Centigrade. These effects are evident as cold spots at 53.65 GHz and can be identified by virtue of their small spatial extent, in contrast to smooth variations characteristic of normal atmospheric temperature fields. These effects at 53.65 GHz are sufficiently well correlated with inferred liquid water abundances that they can be used for detecting major storm systems over both land and sea.
Abstract
Trajectory calculations are used to examine ozone transport in the polar winter stratosphere during periods of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) observations. The value of these calculations for determining mass transport was demonstrated previously using UARS observations of long-lived tracers. In the middle stratosphere, the overall ozone behavior observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder in the polar vortex is reproduced by this purely dynamical model. Calculations show the evolution of ozone in the lower stratosphere during early winter to be dominated by dynamics in December 1992 in the Arctic. Calculations for June 1992 in the Antarctic show evidence of chemical ozone destruction and indicate that ≈ 50% of the chemical destruction may be masked by dynamical effects, mainly diabatic descent, which bring higher ozone into the lower-stratospheric vortex. Estimating differences between calculated and observed fields suggests that dynamical changes masked ≈20%–35% of chemical ozone loss during late February and early March 1993 in the Arctic. In the Antarctic late winter, in late August and early September 1992, below ≈520 K, the evolution of vortex-averaged ozone is entirely dominated by chemical effects; above this level, however, chemical ozone depiction can be partially or completely masked by dynamical effects. Our calculations for 1992 showed that chemical loss was nearly completely compensated by increases due to diabatic descent at 655 K.
Abstract
Trajectory calculations are used to examine ozone transport in the polar winter stratosphere during periods of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) observations. The value of these calculations for determining mass transport was demonstrated previously using UARS observations of long-lived tracers. In the middle stratosphere, the overall ozone behavior observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder in the polar vortex is reproduced by this purely dynamical model. Calculations show the evolution of ozone in the lower stratosphere during early winter to be dominated by dynamics in December 1992 in the Arctic. Calculations for June 1992 in the Antarctic show evidence of chemical ozone destruction and indicate that ≈ 50% of the chemical destruction may be masked by dynamical effects, mainly diabatic descent, which bring higher ozone into the lower-stratospheric vortex. Estimating differences between calculated and observed fields suggests that dynamical changes masked ≈20%–35% of chemical ozone loss during late February and early March 1993 in the Arctic. In the Antarctic late winter, in late August and early September 1992, below ≈520 K, the evolution of vortex-averaged ozone is entirely dominated by chemical effects; above this level, however, chemical ozone depiction can be partially or completely masked by dynamical effects. Our calculations for 1992 showed that chemical loss was nearly completely compensated by increases due to diabatic descent at 655 K.
Abstract
The “4-day wave” is an eastward moving quasi-nondispersive feature with period near 4 days occurring near the winter polar stratopause. This paper presents evidence of the 4-day feature in Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) temperature, geopotential height, and ozone data from the late southern winters of 1992 and 1993. Space–time spectral analyses reveal a double-peaked temperature structure consisting of one peak near the stratopause and another in the lower mesosphere, with an out-of-phase relationship between the two peaks. This double-peaked structure is reminiscent of recent three-dimensional barotropic/baroclinic instability model predictions and is observed here for the first time. The height variation of the 4-day ozone signal is shown to compare well with a linear advective–photochemical tracer model. Negative regions of quasigeostrophic potential vorticity (PV) gradient and positive Eliassen–Palm flux divergence are shown to occur, consistent with instability dynamics playing a role in wave forcing. Spectral analyses of PV derived from MLS geopotential height fields reveal a 4-day signal peaking near the polar stratopause. The three-dimensional structure of the 4-day wave resembles the potential vorticity “charge” concept, wherein a PV anomaly in the atmosphere (analogous to an electrical charge in a dielectric material) induces a geopotential field, a vertically oriented temperature dipole, and circulation about the vertical axis.
Abstract
The “4-day wave” is an eastward moving quasi-nondispersive feature with period near 4 days occurring near the winter polar stratopause. This paper presents evidence of the 4-day feature in Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) temperature, geopotential height, and ozone data from the late southern winters of 1992 and 1993. Space–time spectral analyses reveal a double-peaked temperature structure consisting of one peak near the stratopause and another in the lower mesosphere, with an out-of-phase relationship between the two peaks. This double-peaked structure is reminiscent of recent three-dimensional barotropic/baroclinic instability model predictions and is observed here for the first time. The height variation of the 4-day ozone signal is shown to compare well with a linear advective–photochemical tracer model. Negative regions of quasigeostrophic potential vorticity (PV) gradient and positive Eliassen–Palm flux divergence are shown to occur, consistent with instability dynamics playing a role in wave forcing. Spectral analyses of PV derived from MLS geopotential height fields reveal a 4-day signal peaking near the polar stratopause. The three-dimensional structure of the 4-day wave resembles the potential vorticity “charge” concept, wherein a PV anomaly in the atmosphere (analogous to an electrical charge in a dielectric material) induces a geopotential field, a vertically oriented temperature dipole, and circulation about the vertical axis.
Abstract
The transport of passive tracers observed by the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is simulated using computed three-dimensional trajectories of ≈ 100 000 air parcels initialized on a stratosphere grid, with horizontal winds provided by the United Kingdom Meteorological Office data assimilation system, and vertical (cross isentropic) velocities computed using a fast radiation code. The conservative evolution of trace constituent fields is estimated over 20–30-day periods by assigning to each parcel the observed mixing ratio of the long-lived trace gases N20 and CH4 observed by the Cryogenic Limb Army Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) and H2O observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the initialization date. Agreement between calculated and observed fields is best inside the polar vortex and is better in the Arctic than in the Antarctic. Although there is not always detailed agreement outside the vortex, the trajectory calculations still reproduce the average large-scale characteristics of passive tracer evolution in midlatitudes. In late winter, synoptic maps from trajectory calculations reproduce all major features of the observations, including large tongues or blobs of material drawn from low latitudes into the region of the anticyclone during February–March 1993. Comparison of lower-stratospheric observations of the CLAES tracers with the calculations suggests that discontinuities seen in CLAES data in the Antarctic late winter lower stratosphere are inconsistent with passive tracer behavior. In the Arctic, and in the Antarctic late winter, MLS H20 observations show behavior that is inconsistent with calculations and with that expected for passive tracers inside the polar vortex in the middle-to-upper stratosphere. Diabatic descent rates in the Arctic lower stratosphere deduced from data are consistent with those from the calculations. In the Antarctic lower stratosphere, the calculations appear to underestimate the diabatic descent. The agreement between large-scale features of calculated and observed tracer fields supports the utility of these calculations in diagnosing trace species transport in the winter polar vortex.
Abstract
The transport of passive tracers observed by the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is simulated using computed three-dimensional trajectories of ≈ 100 000 air parcels initialized on a stratosphere grid, with horizontal winds provided by the United Kingdom Meteorological Office data assimilation system, and vertical (cross isentropic) velocities computed using a fast radiation code. The conservative evolution of trace constituent fields is estimated over 20–30-day periods by assigning to each parcel the observed mixing ratio of the long-lived trace gases N20 and CH4 observed by the Cryogenic Limb Army Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) and H2O observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the initialization date. Agreement between calculated and observed fields is best inside the polar vortex and is better in the Arctic than in the Antarctic. Although there is not always detailed agreement outside the vortex, the trajectory calculations still reproduce the average large-scale characteristics of passive tracer evolution in midlatitudes. In late winter, synoptic maps from trajectory calculations reproduce all major features of the observations, including large tongues or blobs of material drawn from low latitudes into the region of the anticyclone during February–March 1993. Comparison of lower-stratospheric observations of the CLAES tracers with the calculations suggests that discontinuities seen in CLAES data in the Antarctic late winter lower stratosphere are inconsistent with passive tracer behavior. In the Arctic, and in the Antarctic late winter, MLS H20 observations show behavior that is inconsistent with calculations and with that expected for passive tracers inside the polar vortex in the middle-to-upper stratosphere. Diabatic descent rates in the Arctic lower stratosphere deduced from data are consistent with those from the calculations. In the Antarctic lower stratosphere, the calculations appear to underestimate the diabatic descent. The agreement between large-scale features of calculated and observed tracer fields supports the utility of these calculations in diagnosing trace species transport in the winter polar vortex.
Abstract
This article discusses remote sensing of atmospheric temperatures with the NEMS microwave spectrometer on the Nimbus 5 satellite, and the accuracy with which atmospheric temperatures can be determined by NEMS. The sensitivity of the NEMS instrument allows measurement of temperature profiles having vertical resolution of the respective NEMS weighting functions (∼10 km) with an rms accuracy of a few tenths of a degree Kelvin for a 16 s integration time. The accuracy of NEMS in estimating atmospheric temperatures at the discrete levels (∼2 km vertical resolution in the lower troposphere) used in the operational numerical model of the National Meteorological Center (NMC) is ∼2 K rms, as determined by comparing NEMS results with ground truth data obtained from the NMC operational analysis and from coincident radiosondes. These accuracies are consistent with the theoretical accuracies expected for NEMS.
Abstract
This article discusses remote sensing of atmospheric temperatures with the NEMS microwave spectrometer on the Nimbus 5 satellite, and the accuracy with which atmospheric temperatures can be determined by NEMS. The sensitivity of the NEMS instrument allows measurement of temperature profiles having vertical resolution of the respective NEMS weighting functions (∼10 km) with an rms accuracy of a few tenths of a degree Kelvin for a 16 s integration time. The accuracy of NEMS in estimating atmospheric temperatures at the discrete levels (∼2 km vertical resolution in the lower troposphere) used in the operational numerical model of the National Meteorological Center (NMC) is ∼2 K rms, as determined by comparing NEMS results with ground truth data obtained from the NMC operational analysis and from coincident radiosondes. These accuracies are consistent with the theoretical accuracies expected for NEMS.
Abstract
The three-dimensional evolution of stratospheric water vapor distributions observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) during the period October 1991–July 1992 is documented. The transport features inferred from the MLS water vapor distributions are corroborated using other dynamical fields, namely, nitrous oxide from the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer instrument, analyzed winds from the U.K. Meteorological Office (UKMO), UKMO-derived potential vorticity, and the diabatic heating field. By taking a vortex-centered view and an along-track view, the authors observe in great detail the vertical and horizontal structure of the northern winter stratosphere. It is demonstrated that the water vapor distributions show clear signatures of the effects of diabatic descent through isentropic surfaces and quasi-horizontal transport along isentropic surfaces, and that the large-scale winter flow is organized by the interaction between the westerly polar vortex and the Aleutian high.
Abstract
The three-dimensional evolution of stratospheric water vapor distributions observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) during the period October 1991–July 1992 is documented. The transport features inferred from the MLS water vapor distributions are corroborated using other dynamical fields, namely, nitrous oxide from the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer instrument, analyzed winds from the U.K. Meteorological Office (UKMO), UKMO-derived potential vorticity, and the diabatic heating field. By taking a vortex-centered view and an along-track view, the authors observe in great detail the vertical and horizontal structure of the northern winter stratosphere. It is demonstrated that the water vapor distributions show clear signatures of the effects of diabatic descent through isentropic surfaces and quasi-horizontal transport along isentropic surfaces, and that the large-scale winter flow is organized by the interaction between the westerly polar vortex and the Aleutian high.
