Ozone destruction by solar electrons in relation to solar variability and the terrestrial latitude

Precipitating electrons from the radiation belts with energies greater than from 150 keV to 5 MeV have been correlated with ozone data of a large number of stations located within 40–70° N. Energetic electrons have been collected by the low altitude polar Russian satellite METEOR while ozone data have been compiled from almost ninety (90) stations located all over the world within the latitude zone 40–70° N.     

Response of the extratropical middle atmosphere to the September 2002 major stratospheric sudden warming

The effects of a major stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) at extratropical latitudes have been investigated with wind and temperature observations over a Brazilian station, Cachoeira Paulista (22.7°S, 45°W) during September–October 2002. In response to the warming at polar latitudes a corresponding cooling at tropical and extratropical latitudes is prominent in the stratosphere. A conspicuous signature of latitudinal propagation of a planetary wave of zonal wavenumbers 1 and 2 from polar to low latitude has been observed during the warming period. The polar vortex which split into two parts of different size is found to travel considerably low latitude. Significant air mass mixing between low and high latitudes is caused by planetary wave breaking. The meridional wind exhibits oscillations of period 2–4 days during the warming period in the stratosphere. No wave feature is evident in the mesosphere during the warming period, although a 12–14 day periodicity is observed after 2 weeks of the warming event, indicating close resemblance to the results of other simultaneous investigations carried out from high latitude Antarctic stations. Convective activity over the present extratropical station diminishes remarkably during the warming period. This behavior is possibly due to destabilization and shift of equatorial convective active regions towards the opposite hemisphere in response to changes in the mean meridional circulation in concert with the SSW.     

Characteristics of the seasonal variation of the global tropopause revealed by COSMIC/GPS data

Using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation observations from Formosa Satellite mission-3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC) from 2007 to 2012, the climatological characteristics of the global tropopause was studied, with the following features identified. The overall results generally agree with previous studies. The tropopause has an obvious zonal structure, with more zonal characteristics in the Southern Hemisphere than the Northern Hemisphere. The vertical shape of the tropopause is sharp in the tropics and broad in the sub-tropical latitudes, with the sharpest latitudinal gradient in the mid-latitudes of both hemispheres. The global tropopause exists in a large range between 8 km and 17 km (or between 100 hPa and 340 hPa). The highest tropopause is over the South Asian monsoon regions for the entire year. The spatial structure of the tropopause in the polar region is of concentric structure, with an altitude between 7.5 km and 10 km. It is more symmetric in the Antarctic than the Arctic. Differing from other places, the height of the tropopause in the Antarctic is higher in winter as opposed to summer. The tropopause has distinct seasonal variability, especially in polar regions.     

Temperature comparison between CHAMP radio occultation and TIMED/SABER measurements in the lower stratosphere

Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver on the CHAllenging Mini-satellite Payload (CHAMP) and the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument, one of four on board the TIMED satellite, provide middle atmosphere temperature profiles by Radio Occultation (RO) and limb viewing infrared emission measurements, respectively. These temperature profiles retrieved by two different techniques in the stratosphere are compared with each other using more than 1300 correlative profiles in March, September and December 2005. The over-all mean differences averaged over 15 and 35 km are approximately −2 K and standard deviation is less than 3 K. Below 20 km of altitude, relatively small mean temperature differences ∼1 K are observed in wide latitudinal range except for June (during the SABER nighttime observation). In the middle to low latitudes, between 30°S and 30°N, the temperature difference increases with height from ∼0–1 K at 15 km, to ∼−4 K at 35 km of altitude. Large temperature differences about −4 to −6 K are observed between 60°S and 30°N and 31–35 km of altitude for all months and between 0° and 30°N below 16 km during June (nighttime).     

Tropopause analysis over the Iranian region using GPS radio occultation data

Near-tropopause phenomena like upper level fronts and cyclones, penetrative cumulus convection and mesoscale mechanisms of exchange make important contributions to the mixing processes in the atmosphere. Spatio-temporal monitoring of the tropopause height, temperature and pressure is an appropriate tool to show the running processes in the atmosphere. In this study, GPS radio occultation data is used to investigate the tropopause height fluctuations and the relation between the stratosphere–troposphere exchange and the aforementioned phenomena over the Iranian region. The paper shows how the position of the sub-tropical jet has changed with time, using GPS radio occultation observations. The tropopause height changes latitudinally, and three different bimodal probability distribution functions are observed. The results also show that the mixing region in the south of Iran is associated with the subtropical jet in winter. However, this region shifts north of Iran due to changes in the position of the subtropical jet during the summer. Consistency of the mixing region from the radio occultation data and the total ozone of TOMS over the Iranian region is also observed.     

Wave perturbations in the MLT at high northern latitudes in winter,observed by two SATI instruments

To investigate the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT) region, several ground-based instruments called SATI (Spectral Airglow Temperature Imager) were designed and built to measure airglow emission and temperature in the upper mesosphere. One SATI instrument was installed at Resolute Bay (74.7°N, 94.9°W) and has monitored the polar MLT region since November, 2001. In October 2007 another SATI instrument was installed at Eureka (80.0°N, 86.3°W) at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) as part of the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change (CANDAC) project. SATI is a spatial scanning Fabry–Perot spectrometer measuring column emission rates for several rotational lines of OH and O₂ airglow at 87 and 94 km height. The rotational temperatures are inferred from the ratios of these lines. The measurements are divided into 12 sectors with an annular field of view. The phase differences between the sectors yield information on the horizontal atmospheric wave direction and wavelength. Horizontal perturbations of 2–8 h period have correlatively been observed and investigated at both locations. Short-periodic oscillations identified as gravity waves with periods between 2 and 8 h propagate in southward and eastward directions, but in opposite directions in some cases. The wave propagation characteristics are often different at the two locations; the relationship with the lower mean wind is considered.     

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.     

Temperature variability in the tropical mesosphere during the northern hemisphere winter

Temperature observations at 20–90 km height and 5°N–15°N during the period of December 1992–March 1993 from the WINDII and MLS experiments on the UARS satellite are analysed together with MF radar winds and UKMO assimilated fields of temperature and zonal and meridional winds. The correlation between the different datasets at the tropics and zonal mean wind data at mid latitudes is examined for period February–March 1993, when series of stratospheric warming events were observed at middle and high latitudes. Wavelet analysis is applied to investigate coupling between stationary and travelling planetary waves in the stratosphere and the upper mesosphere. Planetary waves m = 1 with periods of 4–7 days, 8–12 days and 13–18 days are found to dominate the period. Westward 7- and 16–18 day waves at the tropics appear enhanced by stationary planetary waves during sudden stratospheric warming events.     

The asymmetrical features in electron density during extreme solar minimum

The variations of plasma density in topside ionosphere during 23rd/24th solar cycle minimum attract more attentions in recently years. In this analysis, we use the data of electron density (Ne) from DEMETER (Detection of Electromagnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions) satellite at the altitude of 660–710 km to investigate the solstitial and equinoctial asymmetry under geomagnetic coordinate system at LT (local time) 1030 and 2230 during 2005–2010, especially in solar minimum years of 2008–2009. The results reveal that ΔNe (December–June) is always positive over Southern Hemisphere and negative over northern part whatever at LT 1030 or 2230, only at 0–10°N the winter anomaly occurs with ΔNe (December–June) > 0, and its amplitude becomes smaller with the declining of solar flux from 2005 to 2009. The ΔNe between September and March is completely negative during 2005–2008, but in 2009, it turns to be positive at latitudes of 20°S–40°N at LT 1030 and 10°S–20°N at LT 2230. Furthermore, the solstitial and equinoctial asymmetry index (AI) are calculated and studied respectively, which all depends on local time, latitude and longitude. The notable differences occur at higher latitudes in solar minimum year of 2009 with those in 2005–2008. The equinoctial AI at LT 2230 is quite consistent with the variational trend of solar flux with the lowest absolute AI occurring in 2009, the extreme solar minimum, but the solstitial AI exhibits abnormal enhancement during 2008 and 2009 with bigger AI than those in 2005–2007. Compared with the neutral compositions at 500 km altitude, it illustrates that [O/N₂] and [O] play some roles in daytime and nighttime asymmetry of Ne at topside ionosphere.     

Long term variability of total ozone yearly minima and maxima in the latitudinal belt from 20°N to 60°N derived from the merged satellite data in the period 1979–2008

This paper deals with the behavior of the annual cycle of total ozone (ACO3) and its amplitude (O3_AMP) in the latitudinal belt from 20°N to 60°N. The prominent feature of the O3_AMP spatial pattern is the sharp maximum over the north-east coast of Asia. The spatial correlation of O3_AMP with its highest/lowest value varies with location: in the middle latitudes it correlates predominantly with the values of annual maxima of total ozone, while in the lower latitudes, there is a strong negative correlation with the values of ACO3 minima. Regarding temporal evolution of O3_AMP we detected distinct negative trend in the period of 1979–1995 which is caused by stronger negative trend of maxima than the negative trend of minima in ACO3. In the period 1995–2008 we found the positive trend of ACO3 in most regions due to stronger positive trend of maxima than that of minima in ACO3 in the middle latitudes (especially over the central and northern Europe and the north-east Asia). In the lower latitudes a weak negative trend of O3_AMP was identified and linked to weaker positive trend of maxima than positive trend of minima in ACO3. The behavior of the temporal trends was linked to the changes in Brewer–Dobson circulation and to the trends of tropopause pressure.     

Comparison between African equatorial station ground-based inferred vertical E × B drift,Jicamarca direct measured drift,and IRI model

The Incoherent Scatter Radar measurement over Jicamarca, together with the IRI model-2007 measurements were compared with ground-based digisonde inferred E × B drift over Ilorin in the African region during year of solar minima (F10.7 = 81). Seasonally, Ilorin pre-reversal enhancement (PRE) had peak drift velocities of 7.2, 3.7 and 7.9 m/s for March equinox, September equinox and December solstice respectively, while Jicamarca drifts indicated 13.0, 10.5 and 5.2 m/s; as well as the IRI model with 14.3, 8.4 and 0.7 m/s in similar order. PRE value was insignificant during June solstice. The PRE magnitude of the IRI-model during the equinoxes is twice the value obtained at Ilorin. The daytime E × B drift peaked over Ilorin 1–2 h earlier than both the modeled and Jicamarca observations. This could be due to the difference in sunset time at the conjugate points corresponding to the altitude of the observation. During the evening time PRE, the respective correlation coefficients (R) for Vz–F10.7 relation over Jicamarca, Ilorin and the modeled observations are −0.5559, 0.4796 and −0.4979. Similarly, the Vz–Ap relation exhibit excellent anti-correlation coefficient (R = −0.8637) for the IRI-model, −0.4827 over Jicamarca and 0.3479 for Ilorin. Annual mean drift velocities over Jicamarca, Ilorin and IRI model measurements respectively are 10, 5.6 and 10 m/s for the peak PRE observation; 15, 16 and 21 m/s for the daytime pre-sunrise peak values; and −21, −9 and −16 m/s for the nighttime downward reversals. The root-mean square (RMS) deviation between IRI-model and the Ilorin drift between 2000 and 0500 h is 4.37, 2.03, 3.71 and 2.42 m/s for March equinox, June solstice, September equinox and December solstice respectively. For Jicamarca–Ilorin drift relation, RMS deviation is 5.48, 2.30, 3.47 and 1.27 m/s in the same order respectively. Annual hmF2 inferred drift over Ilorin during daytime is higher by a factor of ≈2 and 3 at Jicamarca and IRI model measurements respectively; and by a factor of ≈5 for both during the night-time period. The limitations in using hmF2 to infer drifts are discussed.     

A numerical model approximating extreme energetic electron events involved in the physical and chemical processes of the middle atmosphere

Relativistic electrons (with energies >150 keV) which originate in the outer radiation belt and detected by the Russian ‘Meteor’ series of satellites have been correlated with the atmospheric total ozone data compiled by almost 90 stations located around the world within the latitude zone 40°–70°N. In more than 60% of the stations examined we have detected a clear decrease of the ozone 3–5 days after the electron flux excess. A numerical model has been applied to approximate this effect based on relativistic electron initiated nitric oxides creation in the upper mesosphere with subsequent atmospheric transport (both vertical and horizontal) towards the upper stratosphere. A first attempt of local and temporal prediction of ozone depletion because of energetic electrons impact in the middle atmosphere has been illustrated.     

Seasonal patterns of condensation and sublimation cycles in the cryptic and non-cryptic regions of the South Pole

The South Pole of Mars is characterized by an asymmetric residual ice cap composed of water ice and CO₂ ice. On the opposite side of the residual cap, there exists an area called cryptic region which is relatively free of ice during summer time. Many fan-shaped km-scale structures apparently caused by a wind-blown system of dust-laden gas jets occurred dozens degrees of Ls before the complete sublimation of the CO₂ frost layer. We have examined the seasonal cycles of condensation and sublimation in the cryptic and non-cryptic regions by using the topographic data from the MOLA/MGS measurements. Using the MOLA topography data collected over one Martian year (1999–2001), we have studied the temporal elevation change and the seasonal cycle of the carbon dioxide frost on the southern polar caps. We have produced mapping of the seasonal CO₂ frost thickness variation for seven Ls (30°, 60°, 90°, 120°, 150°, 180°, 210°, 240°, 270° and 330°). It is found that the time variations of the CO₂ frost thickness in these two regions are quite similar. The greatest thickness of the CO₂ frost layer is about 0.76–0.78 m in both places occurs at Ls = 150°.     

Modulation of galactic cosmic rays in a north–south asymmetrical heliosphere

Observations made with the two Voyager spacecraft confirmed that the solar wind decelerates to form the heliospheric termination shock. Voyager 1 crossed this termination shock at ∼94 AU in 2004, while Voyager 2 crossed it in 2007 at a different heliolatitude, about 10 AU closer to the Sun. These different positions of the termination shock confirm the dynamic and cyclic nature of the shock’s position. Observations from the two Voyager spacecraft inside the heliosheath indicate significant differences between them, suggesting that apart from the dynamic nature caused by changing solar activity there also may exist a global asymmetry in the north–south (polar) dimensions of the heliosphere, in addition to the expected nose–tail asymmetry. This relates to the direction in which the heliosphere is moving in interstellar space and its orientation with respect to the interstellar magnetic field. In this paper we focus on illustrating the effects of this north–south asymmetry on modulation of galactic cosmic ray Carbon, between polar angles of 55° and 125°, using a numerical model which includes all four major modulation processes, the termination shock and the heliosheath. This asymmetry is incorporated in the model by assuming a significant dependence on heliolatitude of the thickness of the heliosheath. When comparing the computed spectra between the two polar angles, we find that at energies E < ∼1.0 GeV the effects of the assumed asymmetry on the modulated spectra are insignificant up to 60 AU from the Sun but become increasingly more significant with larger radial distances to reach a maximum inside the heliosheath. In contrast, with E > ∼1.0 GeV, these effects remain insignificant throughout the heliosphere even very close to the heliopause. Furthermore, we find that a higher local interstellar spectrum for Carbon enhances the effects of asymmetric modulation between the two polar angles at lower energies (E < ∼300 MeV). In conclusion, it is found that north–south asymmetrical effects on the modulation of cosmic ray Carbon depend strongly on the extent of the geometrical asymmetry of the heliosheath together with the assumed value of the local interstellar spectrum.     

The variability and IRI2007-predictability of hmF2 over South Africa

This paper presents an investigation into the variability and predictability of the maximum height of the ionospheric F2 layer, hmF2 over the South African region. Data from three South African stations, namely Madimbo (22.4°S, 26.5°E, dip angle: −61.47°), Grahamstown (33.3°S, 26.5°E, dip angle: −64.08°) and Louisvale (28.5°S, 21.2°E, dip angle: −65.44°) were used in this study. The results indicate that hmF2 shows a larger variability around midnight than during the daytime for all seasons. Monthly median hmF2 values were used in all cases and were compared with predictions from the IRI-2007 model, using the URSI (Union Radio-Scientifique Internationale) coefficient option. The analysis covers the diurnal and seasonal hourly hmF2 values for the selected months and time sectors e.g. January, July, April and October for 2003 and 2005. The time ranges between (03h00–23h00 UT; LT = UT + 2h) representing the local sunrise, midday, sunset and midnight hours. The time covers sunrise, midday, sunrise, and midnight hours (03–06h00 UT, 07–11h00 UT, sunrise 16–18h00 UT and 22–23h00 UT; LT = UT + 2h). The dependence of the results on solar activity levels was also investigated. The IRI-2007 predictions follow fairly well the diurnal and seasonal variation patterns of the observed hmF2 values at all the stations. However, the IRI-2007 model overestimates and underestimates the hmF2 value during different months for all the solar activity periods.     

Sensitivity analysis for air temperature profile estimation methods around the tropopause using simulated Aqua/AIRS data

A sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate potential improvements to the accuracy of air temperature profile retrievals near the tropopause. A simple inversion method is employed to identify and remove redundant spectral channels from the retrievals using simulated data for the high-spectral resolution sounder AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) on the Aqua satellite. Bayesian optimal theory and inverse technique are applied for the atmospheric temperature profile retrievals, and the 15 μm CO₂ absorption bands (620–750 cm⁻¹) are chosen for this study. Sequentially elimination of redundant channels is directly integrated into the inverse scheme for the temperature profile, in order to accurately retain the valuable channels and remove all the redundant channels, for accurate retrieval of the temperature profile. Also, the tropopause and troposphere are treated differently in the inverse scheme to improve the retrieval accuracy in the tropopause. Results of a sensitivity analysis based on this method, for the Tropical and Middle-Latitude Summer models simulated by MODTRAN4.0, show that the estimated accuracies are improved by 2 K around the tropopause, and are only changed by less than 0.2 K in the troposphere.     

Seasonally steady planetary disturbances in the troposphere and stratosphere as seen in 30 years of NCEP reanalysis data

Zonal velocity and temperature daily global reanalysis data of 30 years are used to search seasonally steady planetary disturbances in the middle troposphere (400 hPa) and middle stratosphere (10 hPa). Significant wavenumber 1, 2 and 3 modes are found. Constant phase lines of zonal velocity 1 modes exhibit significant inclination angles with respect to the meridians. The winter hemisphere generally shows a more significant presence of structures. The Northern Hemisphere (NH) exhibits all over the year a larger amount of structures and more intense amplitudes than the Southern Hemisphere (SH). Middle latitudes exhibit the most significant cases and low latitudes the least significant ones. Longitudinally oriented land–sea transitions at ±$\pm$65° and −35° latitudes appear to play a significant role for the presence of steady planetary modes. The stratosphere exhibits a much simpler picture than the troposphere. Large scale structures with respectively NE–SW (NH) and NW–SE (SH) tilts in the observed temperature and zonal velocity constant phase lines recall the quasi-stationary Rossby wave trains that favor the poleward transport of angular momentum.     

Global water vapour distribution in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere during CRISTA 2

Water vapour measurements during the second mission of the CRyogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) instrument are presented in the altitude regime 8–20 km. Mixing ratios are shown on isentropic surfaces (300–500 K) as global zonal means and as averages in 60° longitude sectors. Transports are indicated to occur preferentially on isentropic surfaces in the northern hemisphere, but not in the tropics and in the south. The hygropause is found shifted away from the equator towards the winter hemisphere. The amount of shift is longitude dependent and can be as great as 20–30°. The water content of the hygropause area shows considerable zonal asymmetries.     

Stability of the seasonal variations in diurnal and semidiurnal components of mid-latitude F2 layer parameters

We report work utilizing 15-min resolution ionospheric data obtained with DPS-4 digisonde in 2003–2011 to study the seasonal variations in amplitudes and phases of the most powerful spectral components of the F2 layer critical frequency (foF2) and peak height (hmF2) fluctuations over Irkutsk (52.5°N, 104.0°E). We show that fluctuations of both parameters contain quasi-harmonic components with periods of T_n = 24/n h (n = 1–7). The number of distinct spectral peaks varies from 3 in summer to 7 in winter. Amplitude and phase characteristics of the diurnal (n = 1) and semidiurnal (n = 2) components is studied using the data sets extracted from the original data sets with band-pass filter. It has been found that the amplitudes of diurnal/semidiurnal foF2 and diurnal hmF2 components are maximum in winter and minimum in summer. Amplitudes of the diurnal components vary gradually; those of the foF2 semidiurnal one, abruptly, thus forming a narrow winter maximum in November–January. The phase (local time of maximum) of the diurnal foF2 component increases gradually by 4–6 h from winter to summer. The phase of the semidiurnal foF2 component is nearly stable in winter/summer and sharply decreases (increases) by 2–3 h near the spring (autumn) equinox. The phase of the diurnal component of hmF2 (local time of minimum) varies slightly between 1130 and 1300 LT; that of the semidiurnal one decreases (increases) by 4–6 h from January to March (from September to November). The results obtained show that the main features of seasonal variations in the diurnal and semidiurnal components of the mid-latitude F2 layer parameters recur consistently during the solar activity growth and decline phases.