Southern Hemisphere Stratospheric Warmings and Coupling to the Mesosphere‐Lower Thermosphere

Twenty six years of medium frequency (MF) radar wind measurements made from 1994 to 2019 at Davis Station (68.6°S, 77.9°E) are used to study the mean response of the mesosphere‐lower thermosphere to stratospheric warmings in the Southern Hemisphere. Warming events were detected using Modern‐Era Retr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres 2022-08, Vol.127 (15), p.n/a
Main Authors: Vincent, R. A., Kovalam, S., Reid, I. M., Murphy, D. J., Klekociuk, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Downwelling
Geophysics
Lower mantle
Lower thermosphere
Mesosphere
mesospheric coupling
Ocean circulation
Planetary waves
Polar caps
Polar temperatures
Radar
Radar data
Radar wind
Residual circulation
Southern Hemisphere
Stratosphere
Stratospheric warming
stratospheric warmings
Temperature rise
Thermosphere
Upwelling
Wind measurement
Wind speed
Winds
Zonal winds
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Summary:Twenty six years of medium frequency (MF) radar wind measurements made from 1994 to 2019 at Davis Station (68.6°S, 77.9°E) are used to study the mean response of the mesosphere‐lower thermosphere to stratospheric warmings in the Southern Hemisphere. Warming events were detected using Modern‐Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA2) data with a systematic search for reductions in the zonal‐mean circulation at 60°S and corresponding increases in polar temperatures. Some 37 events were identified, including the 2002 major warming and the large event of 2019, with an average of 1–2 warmings per year. At the 10 hPa level, the polar cap temperature increases ranged from 3 to 28 K, with a mean value of 12 K, while the zonal wind speed reductions varied between −6 and −43 ms−1, with a mean value of −15 ms−1. Peak values occurred near 40 km. Warmings occurred mainly between August and October, with a small peak in occurrence in April/May. The MF radar data showed an average reduction in the mesospheric eastward winds of about 5–7 ms−1 at heights near 75 km that occurred 3–4 days prior to the changes in the stratosphere. Warming events were driven by episodic intensifications in planetary wave amplitudes, with quasi‐stationary planetary scale waves (PW) 1 being especially important. PW Eliassen‐Palm flux divergences show a systematic behavior with time and height that is consistent with a poleward residual circulation and downwelling over the pole prior to the warming events and an equatorward flow and upwelling after the peak of the events. Key Points Medium frequency radar wind data acquired at Davis Station between 1994 and 2019 are used to study the response of the mesosphere‐lower thermosphere to Southern Hemisphere stratospheric warmings Warmings have an average duration of about 10 days and are driven by episodic penetration of planetary waves from the lower atmosphere The mean mesospheric response to warmings is a decrease in the eastward flow of 5–7 ms−1
ISSN:2169-897X
2169-8996
DOI:10.1029/2022JD036558