Model-measurement comparison of mesospheric temperature inversions, and a simple theory for their occurrence

Mesospheric temperature inversions are well established observed phenomena, yet their properties remain the subject of ongoing research. Comparisons between Rayleigh‐scatter lidar temperature measurements obtained by the University of Western Ontario's Purple Crow Lidar (42.9°N, 81.4°W) and the...

Celý popis

Uloženo v:
Podrobná bibliografie
Vydáno v:Geophysical research letters Ročník 34; číslo 23
Hlavní autoři: Sica, R. J., Argall, P. S., Shepherd, T. G., Koshyk, J. N.
Médium: Journal Article
Jazyk:angličtina
Vydáno: Washington, DC Blackwell Publishing Ltd 16.12.2007
American Geophysical Union
Témata:
Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
mesospheric inversion layers
Rayleigh-scatter lidar
Canada
Ontario
Eastern Canada
waves
inverse problem
Atmosphere model
thickness
Summer
exhibits
Mesosphere
North America
Temperature reversal
frequency
Temperature measurement
saturation
amplitude
Winter
prediction
Lidar
theory
statistics
ISSN:0094-8276, 1944-8007
On-line přístup:Získat plný text
Tagy: Přidat tag
Žádné tagy, Buďte první, kdo vytvoří štítek k tomuto záznamu!
Popis
Shrnutí:Mesospheric temperature inversions are well established observed phenomena, yet their properties remain the subject of ongoing research. Comparisons between Rayleigh‐scatter lidar temperature measurements obtained by the University of Western Ontario's Purple Crow Lidar (42.9°N, 81.4°W) and the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model are used to quantify the statistics of inversions. In both model and measurements, inversions occur most frequently in the winter and exhibit an average amplitude of ∼10 K. The model exhibits virtually no inversions in the summer, while the measurements show a strongly reduced frequency of occurrence with an amplitude about half that in the winter. A simple theory of mesospheric inversions based on wave saturation is developed, with no adjustable parameters. It predicts that the environmental lapse rate must be less than half the adiabatic lapse rate for an inversion to form, and it predicts the ratio of the inversion amplitude and thickness as a function of environmental lapse rate. Comparison of this prediction to the actual amplitude/thickness ratio using the lidar measurements shows good agreement between theory and measurements.
Bibliografie:istex:4CC918E12912A3F3794FDD5A21D4D388FD5F0904
ArticleID:2007GL030627
Tab-delimited Table 1.
ark:/67375/WNG-VPM54MS6-3
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2007GL030627