Application of heterogeneous mesospheric ion-chemistry model to MST radar echoes over low latitude

MST radar studies at low latitude stations have documented regions in the mesosphere from where enhanced echoes (Low Latitude Mesospheric Echoes (LMEs)) are observed. Such echoes cannot, in general, be explained by considering the dynamical aspects (such as turbulence, winds, waves, etc.) of the region alone. Mesospheric dust/aerosols can enhance the radar echoes considerably and dust is known to exist at all heights and latitudes of the mesosphere. This study investigates the presence of dusty plasma in the mesosphere through the heterogeneous ion-chemistry of the region.Dust of meteoric origin is incorporated in the conventional ion chemistry scheme and the equilibrium height profiles of charged and neutral dust densities corresponding to effective dust sizes (radii) of 1, 10 and 30 nm are computed for the equatorial quiet daytime conditions.The model derived dust density profiles show structures with respect to dust size, height and season that are indicative of the possible role of mesospheric dust in the production/enhancement mechanisms of the LMEs observed over the equatorial station at Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E), India.     

The winter anomaly of 1983/84 as observed in the A3-absorption and 5 kHz atmospherics in Central Europe

The MAP/WINE winter 1983/84 is studied using the LF-MF-HF A3 absorption and 5 kHz atmospherics observed in Czechoslovakia and some other data. The “normal” winter anomaly in Central Europe is developed well in this winter (maximum in mid-January) and appears to be “free of geomagnetic contamination”. The stratospheric warming activity and related changes of prevailing zonal wind in the lower thermosphere in February and March 1984 are followed by decreases of absorption of radio waves. It agrees with our results from preceding winters /1/.     

Responses of the upper middle atmosphere (60–110 km) to the stratwarms of the four pre-map winters (1978/9–1981/2)

The global developments of the four stratospheric events (～20–50 km) are described, using balloon, satellite and rocket data. Winds data for heights of 60–95 km, derived from L.F. drift (52°N, 15°E; Europe) and M.F. radar (52°N, 107°W; Canada), are then compared with the stratospheric data. There is clear evidence that the preliminary planetary waves often penetrate strongly to ～90 km, and that mean wind reversals also occur. However, there are dramatic differences between European and Canadian mesospheric responses.     

New possibilities for mesospheric electricity diagnostics

A possible cause of large variations in the electron collision frequency could be the effect of strong external electric fields of atmospheric origin. This provides a new opportunity to take measurements of electric fields in the lower ionosphere using remote sensing instruments employing radio wave techniques. It has been proposed the technique for making estimates of strong mesospheric electric field intensities on the lower edge of the ionosphere using MF radar data on the effective electron collision frequency, and the data has been presented. The technique described permits a real-time derivation from MF radar data of changes in mesospheric electric field intensities, and estimates of electric current densities. Our results give proof that the source of strong mesospheric electricity is very likely to be a current source.     

Gravity wave propagation studies using the Indian MST radar observations

The Indian MST radar facility at Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E) has been utilised to study the propagation of gravity waves from the troposphere/lower stratosphere to the mesosphere and their interaction with the radar backscattered signal variations. The main objective is to correlate vertically propagating gravity waves derived from the tropospheric velocity fields with the dynamics of mesospheric scattering centres. The tropospheric wind velocities and signal strengths over the entire height range have been subjected to power spectral and wavelet analysis to determine the predominant wave periods/amplitudes and the coupling between the lower atmosphere and mesosphere. Results show that (a) the gravity waves are clearly detectable near tropopause heights, (b) while relatively higher period gravity waves (20–50 min) interact with mesospheric scattering centres, the lower period waves (<20 min) are absorbed in the troposphere itself, (c) the mesospheric scattering layers are affected by gravity waves of complementary periods.     

Statistical parameters of nonisothermal lower ionospheric plasma in the electrically active mesosphere

The large V/m electric fields inherent in the lower mesosphere play an essential role in lower ionospheric electrodynamics. They must be the cause of large variations in the electron temperature and the electron collision frequency and consequently of the transition of the ionospheric plasma in the lower part of the D region into a nonisothermal state. This study is based on the datasets on large mesospheric electric fields collected with the 2.2-MHz radar of the Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Canada (52°N geographic latitude, 60.4°N geomagnetic latitude), and with the 2.3-MHz radar of the Kharkiv V. Karazin National University, Ukraine (49.6°N geographic latitude, 45.6°N geomagnetic latitude). The statistical analysis of these data is presented by [Meek, C.E., Manson, A.H., Martynenko, S.I., Rozumenko, V.T., Tyrnov, O.F. Remote sensing of mesospheric electric fields using MF radars. J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 66, 881–890, 2004. 10.1016/j.jastp.2004.02.002]. The large mesospheric electric fields in the 60–67-km altitude range are experimentally established to follow a Rayleigh distribution in the 0 < E < 2.5 V/m interval. These data have permitted the resulting differential distributions of relative disturbances in the electron temperature, θ, and the effective electron collision frequency, η, to be determined. The most probable θ and η values are found to be in the 1.4–2.2 interval, and hence the nonstationary state of the lower part of the D region needs to be accounted for in studying processes coupling the electrically active mesosphere and the lower ionospheric plasma.     

Winds and waves in the middle atmosphere as observed by ground-based radars

Ground-based radars have proved to be powerful instruments for studying dynamical processes in the middle atmosphere. They have been used successfully in the last few years during Pre-MAP and MAP projects. This paper briefly reviews the following ground-based radar methods: the new MST radar technique for remote sensing of the mesosphere, stratosphere and troposphere, and the well known techniques for mesospheric measurements such as the ionospheric drift experiment, the meteor radar and the MF radar experiments. A survey of observational results obtained with the various techniques is presented. Particular emphasis is directed to winds and waves as well as their interaction, all of which play an important role in the structure and dynamics of the middle atmosphere.     

Connection between winter mesopause region temperatures and diurnal LF reflection height variations measured at Collm

Scale height, H, estimates are calculated from the decrease/increase of ionospheric virtual reflection heights of low-frequency (LF) radio waves at oblique incidence in suitably defined morning intervals around sunrise during winter months. The day-to-day variations of H qualitatively agree with daily mean temperature variations around 90 km from meteor radar measurements. Since mesospheric long-period temperature variations are generally accepted to be the signature of atmospheric planetary waves, this shows that LF reflection height measurements can be used for monitoring the dynamics of the upper middle atmosphere. The long-term variations of monthly mean H estimates have also been analysed. There is no significant trend, which is in agreement with other measurements of mesopause region temperature trends.     

Observation of wave structures in the upper atmosphere by means of radio holographic analysis of the radio occultation data

A radio holographic approach, developed by Pavelyev (1998), Hocke (1999), Igarashi (2000), is applied to observation of wave phenomena in the upper atmosphere using Global Positioning System — “Microlab-1” satellite (GPS/MET) radio occultation data. In the current state the radio holography approach uses the radar focused synthetic aperture principle to obtain high spatial resolution, and to remove the interference part corresponding to scattering from the upper ionosphere. High spatial resolution and accuracy of the radio halographic method is validated by means of revealing the weak signal reflected from the sea in the GPS/MET radio occultation data. The radio holographic method gives a new possibility to measure directly the vertical gradient of the electron density altitude profile in the D-layer using the radio occultation signal. The results of the application of radio holographic analysis to two GPS/MET occultation events (07 February 1997, No. 0447, 0158), in the D-region of the ionosphere, are discussed. Wave structures in the electron density concentration with a vertical spatial period of 1.4–6 km, and variations in the electron density gradient from ±5·10⁹ to ±8·10⁹ [1/(m³km)], have been retrieved from the D-layer data. The features observed in the vertical electron density profiles may be connected with breaking of gravity waves in the D-layer of the ionosphere.     

Responses of the upper middle atmosphere (60–110 km), to the first two stratwarms of map (1982/3, 1983/4)

The global developments of the stratospheric events (～20–50 km) are briefly described using balloon and satellite data. Winds data from L.F. drift (52°N, 15°E, Europe) for heights of 90–100 km, and from M.F. radar (52°N, 107°W, Canada) for heights of 60–110 km are then compared with the stratospheric morphology.Data for 1982/3 and 1983/4 show that the planetary wave activity and warmings produced strong westward and southward perturbations in the radar winds. Satellite data from 0.1, 0.01 hPa are consistent with these winds; and also show smaller scale structures in the mesosphere than the stratosphere. The semi-diurnal tide responded strongly to the atmospheric disturbances in Europe and Canada: for the latter vertical wavelength changes occurred for heights of 70–100 km. However the correlation between these tidal fluctuations was not high indicating that the tidal adjustments were continental rather than hemispheric.     

一枚Chaff火箭观测到的湍流谱

在一个异常强水平风速和极端大风切变层内, 垂直速度扰动谱表明几个相当重要特征:(1)垂直速度扰动谱有二个区域, 一个在低频区, 有谱斜率一1.65, 这个谱斜率接近于惯性子区内-5/3谱斜率, 另一个在高频区, 有谱斜率-7.11, 它接近于粘性子区内-7谱斜率.(2)垂直速度扰动谱有一个崩溃点, 约位于70m, 这与计算的内尺度有好的一致.(3)由垂直速度扰动谱计算的湍流能量耗散率是0.087m2·s-3, 这比MAP/WINE试验中得到的值约大一个数量级.      

极区中层顶区域重力波谱的季节变化

使用MAP/WINE和MAC/SINE两次试验中测量的25m高分辨率水平速度数据和1km低分辨率温度数据,研究极区中层顶区域重力波谱的季节变化.温度的直接测量使计算的谱振幅和Richardson数更接近真实大气.结果显示,极区中层顶区域水平速度垂直波数谱的斜率和振幅存在相当大的变率,这些大的观测变率用各种饱和模式及普适垂直波数谱不能解释.然而平均垂直波数谱显示了明显的季节变化,在夏季,平均谱具有饱和特性;在冬季,平均谱具有非饱和特性.这意味着饱和过程存在于夏季而不是冬季.因此,夏季比冬季应有更强的湍流.这个结果与湍流季节变化的观测大致一致.从Brunt-Vaisala频率N和水平风切变计算的Richardson数Ri剖面也显示出季节差异,Ri<1/4的动力不稳定区出现在夏季,而Ri>0.4的稳定区出现在冬季.这些不稳定区与夏季谱结合很好,而稳定区则与冬季谱结合很好.     

Multi-year high latitude mesospheric neutral wind observations using a Fabry–Perot interferometer

From 1995 to 1999, a Fabry–Perot Interferometer was stationed at Resolute Bay, Canada (75°N, 95°W) to measure the mesospheric neutral winds in the polar cap from the OH nightglow emission during winter seasons. A 12-h wave is the most prominent feature in the neutral winds. The wave amplitude has large day-to-day variations and inter-annual variability, whereas the phase of the wave appears to be largely consistent for year to year. Small phase shift from early winter to later winter was noticed during most of the seasons when early winter data were available. The 12-h wave showed stronger variability during the 1995/1996 winter season, which may be related to nonlinear interactions with planetary waves. Large negative zonal winds were observed during stratospheric sudden warming events.     

北极69°N和78°N空间碎片凝视探测的对比分析

利用北极69°N和78°N两套非相干散射雷达的首次空间碎片联合观测数据进行空间碎片参数（距离、速度、散射截面积、等效直径等）的对比分析,得出以下结论:两部雷达探测的碎片高度均主要分布在500～1100km和1400～1600km区间,但78°N雷达探测的碎片数量较多;空间碎片的径向速度均在-1.5～1.5km…-1区间,其中大部分为负值,说明在此次探测试验中碎片运动方向主要以远离雷达或地球为主;ESR雷达探测的空间碎片射截面积约为10-5～10-2m2,等效直径主要分布在4～10cm,而UHF雷达探测的空间碎片散射截面积约为10-6～10-2m2,等效直径主要分布在2～6cm,说明在同一高度上69°N雷达探测能力更强;经合理设置判据参数后得出重复检测次数,78°N雷达和69°N雷达分别有32次和14次重复检测,两部雷达共有4次重复检测.这些结果为空间碎片检测和建模提供了参考.      

Brazilian Decimetre Array (Phase-1): Initial solar observations

An East–West one-dimensional radio interferometer array consisting of 5 parabolic dish antennas has been set-up at Cachoeira Paulista, Brazil (Longitude: 45°0′20″W, Latitude: 22°41′19″S) for observations of Sun and some of the strong sidereal sources by the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Brazil. This is Phase-1 of the proposed Brazilian Decimetre Array (BDA) and can be operated at any frequency in the range 1.2–1.7 GHz. The instrument is functional since November 2004 onwards at 1.6 GHz. The angular and temporal resolution at the above frequency range are ∼3′ and 100 ms, respectively. We present here the initial solar observations carried out with this array.     

对流层雷暴源所产生的柱形重力波

已有充分的证据表明, 大气对流层的雷暴迹象是大气中间层重力波活动的显著代表源.在雷暴迹象的上方, 通过火箭已观测到大气中间层出现的热效应, 也已通过雷 达探测到大气平流层出现的上行重力波, 从地面和卫星平台上观察到夜间气辉有序而 成环状的重力波波形. 所有这些实验结果都与位于观测点下方的雷暴活动有紧密联系. 此类雷暴通常主要集中在中国东部沿海以及地球其他沿海海湾地域. 关于此类雷暴对大 气中间层的影响尚未被充分研究和了解. 为能有效地探究其成因, 利用所开发的一个二维计算机数值模型模拟和研究大气对流层的雷暴源所引发的上行重力波, 进而揭示 此类重力波产生的基本物理机理, 及其在大气中间层的能量耗散. 通过模拟研究发现, 雷暴源可以大面积高强度地聚集和释放积雨云的能量, 当这种周期性的对流变化引发大气对流层的不稳定性后, 就会有圆柱体重力波的产生和传播.      

The 16-day waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere over Wuhan (30.6°N, 114.5°E) and Adelaide (35°S, 138°E)

Winds from a meteor radar at Wuhan (30.6°N, 114.5°E) and a MF radar at Adelaide (35°S, 138°E) are used to study the 16-day waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). The height range is 78–98 km at Wuhan and 70–98 km at Adelaide. By comparison, it is found that the zonal components at both sites are generally larger than the meridional ones, and eastward motion of the zonal background winds is favorable for the 16-day waves penetration to the MLT region. The zonal maximum amplitude appears in the autumn (September–October) around 86–98 km at Wuhan and in the winter months and early spring (July–October) around 72–82 km at Adelaide. Differences are found in wave amplitudes and time of appearance between the two years of 2002 and 2003. In 2003, the intensity of the wave amplitudes is relatively smaller than that for 2002 at both sites. The summer 16-day waves are comparatively weaker at Adelaide in both years, but stronger in 2002 at Wuhan near the mesopause and the lower thermosphere (86–98 km). The strong summer waves at Wuhan may come from the winter southern hemisphere.     

北纬30°中层顶区域钠与铁原子层的结构和年际变化

基于武汉大学Na和Fe激光雷达在2004年1月至2011年12月期间的观测数据，得到武汉上空中层顶区域Na和Fe原子层的平均特性、夜间变化和季节变化特征.Na层平均质心高度为91.36km，平均RMS（均方根）宽度为4.64km.Fe层平均质心高度为88.99km，平均RMS宽度为4.57km.在充分考虑金属层夜间变化和季节变化对数据样本影响的基础上，获取了Na层和Fe层结构在此期间的年际变化特征.对Na层和Fe层质心高度及RMS宽度的年际变化进行线性拟合，发现Na层和Fe层在此期间均相对稳定，Na层质心高度在近8年间仅有约58m的下降，变化率为-7.91m·a-1，Na层RMS宽度减小约151m，变化率为-20.60m·a-1.同期，Fe层的质心高度下降了约230m，变化率为-31.36m·a-1，Fe层RMS宽度则有所增大，变化率为21.01m·a-1.      

VHF radar observation of wave instability and turbulence in the mesosphere

At mesospheric heights, VHF radar measurements reveal strong signal power bursts which have the same period as simultaneously observed short-period velocity oscillations. Both the power bursts and the velocity oscillations occur in layers of maximum vertical wind shear generated by tidal or long-period gravity waves with apparent vertical wavelengths of the order of 10 km. A comparison with similar power bursts measured in the troposphere during a jet stream passage leads to the conclusion that the short-period velocity oscillations are due to a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. This instability in turn generates superadiabatic lapse rates so that strong turbulence can occur which produces the observed signal power bursts.     

Characterization of the semi-annual-oscillation in mesospheric temperatures at low-latitudes

Novel measurements of the seasonal variability in mesospheric temperature at low-latitudes have been obtained from Maui, Hawaii (20.8°N, 156.2°W) during a 25-month period from October 2001 to January 2004. Independent observations of the OH (6, 2) Meinel band (peak height ∼87 km) and the O₂ (0–1) atmospheric band emission (∼94 km) were made using the CEDAR Mesospheric Temperature Mapper. The data revealed a coherent oscillation in emission intensity and rotational temperature with a well-defined periodicity of 181 ± 7 days. The amplitude of this oscillation was determined to be ∼5–6 K in temperature and ∼8–9% in intensity for both the OH and O₂ data sets. In addition, a strong asymmetry in the shape of the oscillation was also observed with the spring maximum significantly larger than the fall peak. These data provide new evidence in support of a semi-annual-oscillation in mesospheric temperature (and airglow emission intensities) and help quantify its seasonal characteristics.