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Variations of Low-latitude Thermospheric Winds and Temperature during the 2020/2021 Major Sudden Stratospheric Warming as Observed by ICON and GOLD Satellites
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  • Erdal Yiğit,
  • Ayden L. S. Gann,
  • Alexander S. Medvedev,
  • Federico Gasperini,
  • MD Nazmus Sakib,
  • Qian Wu
Erdal Yiğit
George Mason University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Ayden L. S. Gann
George Mason University
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Alexander S. Medvedev
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
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Federico Gasperini
Orion Space Solutions
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MD Nazmus Sakib
George Mason University
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Qian Wu
National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
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Abstract

Using ICON and GOLD satellite observations, the response of the thermospheric daytime horizontal winds and neutral temperature to the 2020/2021 major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is studied at low- to middle latitudes (0° - 40°N). Comparison with observations during the non-SSW winter of 2019/2020 and the pre-SSW period (December 2020) clearly demonstrates the SSW-induced changes. The northward and westward thermospheric winds are enhanced during the warming event, while temperature around 150 km drops by up about 50 K compared to the pre-SSW phase. Changes in the horizontal circulation during the SSW can generate upwelling at low-latitudes, which can contribute to the adiabatic cooling of the low-latitude thermosphere. The observed changes during the major SSW are a manifestation of long-range vertical coupling in the atmosphere.
24 May 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
25 May 2023Published in ESS Open Archive