Diurnal variations of midlatitude NLC parameters observed by daylight‐capable lidar and their relation to ambient parameters

Gerding, M.; Kopp, M.; Hoffmann, Peter; Höffner, J.; Lübken, Franz‐Josef

doi:10.1002/2013gl057955

Cited by 30 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The height range of positive trends is restricted to polar latitudes in pressure altitudes but extends to rather low latitudes ( 35 ı N) in geometrical altitudes. This is important, for example, when studying temperature and ice layer trends at middle latitudes [Gerding et al, 2013].…”

Section: Altitude Variation Of Temperature Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature trends in the midlatitude summer mesosphere

2013

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Here we analyze the contribution of varying concentrations of CO 2 and O 3 to the temperature trend in the mesosphere. It is important to distinguish between trends on pressure altitudes, z p , and geometrical altitudes, z geo , where the latter includes the effect of shrinking due to cooling at lower heights. For the period 1961-2009, temperature trends on geometrical and pressure altitudes can differ by as much as -0.9 K/dec in the mesosphere. Temperature trends reach approximately -1.3˙0.11 K/dec at z p 60 km and -1.8˙0.18 K/dec at z geo 70 km, respectively. CO 2 is the main driver of these trends in the mesosphere, whereas O 3 contributes approximately one third, both on geometrical and pressure heights. Depending on the time period chosen, linear temperature trends can vary substantially. Altitudes of pressure levels in the mesosphere decrease by up to several hundred meters. We have performed long-term runs with LIMA applying twentieth century reanalysis dating back to 1871. Again, trends are nonuniform with time. Since the late nineteenth century, temperatures in the mesosphere have dropped by approximately 5-7 K on pressure altitudes and up to 10-12 K on geometrical altitudes.

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Section: Altitude Variation Of Temperature Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature trends in the midlatitude summer mesosphere

2013

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“…The Rayleigh-Mie-Raman (RMR) lidar located at Kühlungsborn is able to provide this information up to 75 km altitude without an additional resonance lidar. The advantage of the RMR lidar at Kühlungsborn is the ability to measure under nighttime as well as under daytime conditions, resulting in a continuous temperature time series over the whole day (Gerding et al, 2013(Gerding et al, , 2016Kopp et al, 2015). Most other lidar instruments which can measure during the day cover only a small altitude range (Chu et al, 2011), while other RMR lidars measure only during nighttime conditions (Gardner and Voelz, 1987;Wilson et al, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal variability of tidal and gravity waves during a record long 10-day continuous lidar sounding

et al. 2018

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Abstract. Gravity waves (GWs) as well as solar tides are a key driving mechanism for the circulation in the Earth's atmosphere. The propagation of gravity waves is strongly affected by tidal waves as they modulate the mean background wind field and vice versa, which is not yet fully understood and not adequately implemented in many circulation models. The daylight-capable Rayleigh-Mie-Raman (RMR) lidar at Kühlungsborn (54 • N, 12 • E) typically provides temperature data to investigate both wave phenomena during one full day or several consecutive days in the middle atmosphere between 30 and 75 km altitude. Outstanding weather conditions in May 2016 allowed for an unprecedented 10-day continuous lidar measurement, which shows a large variability of gravity waves and tides on timescales of days. Using a one-dimensional spectral filtering technique, gravity and tidal waves are separated according to their specific periods or vertical wavelengths, and their temporal evolution is studied. During the measurement period a strong 24 h wave occurs only between 40 and 60 km and vanishes after a few days. The disappearance is related to an enhancement of gravity waves with periods of 4-8 h. Wind data provided by ECMWF are used to analyze the meteorological situation at our site. The local wind structure changes during the observation period, which leads to different propagation conditions for gravity waves in the last days of the measurement period and therefore a strong GW activity. The analysis indicates a further change in wave-wave interaction resulting in a minimum of the 24 h tide. The observed variability of tides and gravity waves on timescales of a few days clearly demonstrates the importance of continuous measurements with high temporal and spatial resolution to detect interaction phenomena, which can help to improve parametrization schemes of GWs in general circulation models.

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“…The new system has already proven to observe noctilucent clouds (NLCs; also known as polar mesospheric clouds) during day and night (Gerding et al, 2013b) as well as tidal temperature variations . Soundings have been performed at solar elevations of up to 59 • , i.e., the maximum elevation during summer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 43%

Mesospheric temperature soundings with the new, daylight-capable IAP RMR lidar

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Temperature measurements by lidar are an important tool for the understanding of the mean state of the atmosphere as well as the propagation of gravity waves and thermal tides. Though, mesospheric lidar soundings are often limited to nighttime conditions (e.g., solar zenith angle > 96 • ) due to the low signal-to-noise ratio during the day. By this, examination of long-period gravity waves and tides is inhibited, as well as soundings in summer at polar latitudes. We developed a new daylight-capable RayleighMie-Raman (RMR) lidar at our site in Kühlungsborn, Germany (54 • N, 12 • E), that is in routine operation since 2010 for temperature soundings up to 90 km or ∼ 75 km (night or day) and soundings of noctilucent clouds. Here we describe the setup of the system with special emphasis on the daylight suppression methods like spatial and spectral filtering. The small bandwidth of the Fabry-Pérot etalons for spectral filtering of the received signal induces an altitude-dependent transmission of the detector. As a result, the signal is no longer proportional to the air density and the hydrostatic integration of the profile results in systematic temperature errors of up to 4 K. We demonstrate a correction method and the validity of correction by comparison with data obtained by our co-located, nighttime-only RMR lidar where no etalon is installed. As a further example a time series of temperature profiles between 20 and 80 km is presented for day and night of 9-10 March 2014. Together with the other data of March 2014 these profiles are used to calculate tidal amplitudes. It is found that tidal amplitudes vary between ∼ 1 and 5 K depending on altitude.

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Diurnal variations of midlatitude NLC parameters observed by daylight‐capable lidar and their relation to ambient parameters

Cited by 30 publications

References 22 publications

Temperature trends in the midlatitude summer mesosphere

Temperature trends in the midlatitude summer mesosphere

Temporal variability of tidal and gravity waves during a record long 10-day continuous lidar sounding

Mesospheric temperature soundings with the new, daylight-capable IAP RMR lidar

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