Mesospheric Q2DW interactions with four migrating tides at
53$^\circ$N latitude: zonal wavenumber
identification through dual-station approaches
Abstract
Mesospheric winds from two longitudinal sectors at
53$^\circ$N latitude are combined to investigate
quasi-two-days (Q2DWs) and their nonlinear interactions with tides. In a
summer 2019 case study, we diagnose the zonal wavenumber $m$ of
spectral peaks at expected frequencies through two dual-station
approaches, a phase differencing technique (PDT) on individual spectral
peaks and a least-squares procedure on family-batched peaks. Consistent
results from the approaches verify the occurrences of Rossby-gravity
modes ($m$=3 and 4 at periods $T$= 2.1d and 1.7d), and their
secondary waves (SWs) generated from interactions with diurnal,
semi-diurnal, ter-diurnal and quatra-diurnal migrating tides. We further
extend the PDT to 2012$\textendash$2019, illustrating
that Q2DWs exhibit significant interannual variability. Composite
analysis reveals seasonal and altitude variations of the Rossby-gravity
modes and their SWs. The Rossby-gravity modes maximize in local summer,
whereas their 16- and 9.6-hr SWs appear more in winter, potentially
originating from Q2DW-tide interactions in the opposite hemisphere.