Atmospheric gravity waves (GWs) play a key role in determining the thermodynamical structure of the Earth’s middle atmosphere. Despite the small spatial and temporal scales of these waves, a few high-top general circulation models (GCMs) that can resolve them explicitly have recently become available. This study compares global GW characteristics simulated in one such GCM, the Japanese Atmospheric GCM for Upper-Atmosphere Research (JAGUAR), with those derived from three-dimensional (3-D) temperatures observed by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite. The target period is from 15 December 2018 to 8 January 2019, including the onset of a major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW). The 3-D Stockwell transform method is used for GW spectral analysis. The amplitudes and momentum fluxes of GWs in JAGUAR are generally in good quantitative agreement with those in the AIRS observations in both magnitude and distribution. As the SSW event progressed, the GW amplitudes and eastward momentum flux increased at low latitudes in the summer hemisphere in both the model and observation datasets. Case studies demonstrate that the model is able to reproduce comparable wave events to those in the AIRS observations with some differences, especially noticeable at low latitudes in the summer hemisphere. Through a comparison between the model results with and without the AIRS observational filter applied, it is suggested that the amplitudes of GWs near the exits and entrances of eastward jet streaks are underestimated in AIRS observations.

In this study, we apply the three-dimensional Stockwell Transform (3DST) to a novel dataset, namely airglow imager data from Rothera (68S, 68W). We use this approach to investigate small-scale high-frequency gravity waves (GWs) in the hydroxyl (OH) airglow layer, at a height $\sim$87 km in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). MLT GWs are often underrepresented in models, being parameterised due to their small scale size and as such, the significant quantities of momentum and energy transferred by these small waves are missed. Better quantification of these waves is thus needed to support future model development. We find that the 3DST can identify waves and extract wave properties and their locations. Horizontal wavelengths are observed ranging from 10 to 40 km and vertical wavelengths of 15 to 40 km, with wave periods of 5 to 9 minutes, peaking at 7.5 minutes. These values are consistent with previous studies. Group speeds are found to be non-zero and large, implying that these GWs travel horizontally and fast. This case study demonstrates that the 3DST can be applied to airglow imager data and can successfully extract GW parameters. This is an important step in automating GW analysis in airglow.

The solar tides of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) show great variability on timescales of days to years, with significant variability at interannual timescales. However, the nature and causes of this variability remain poorly understood. Here, we present measurements made over the interval 2005 to 2020 of the interannual variability of the 12-hour tide as measured at heights of 80 to 100 km by a meteor radar over Rothera (68S, 68W). We use a linear regression analysis to investigate correlations between the 12-hour tidal amplitudes and several climate indices, specifically the solar cycle (as measured by F10.7 solar flux), El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) at 10 hPa and 30 hPa and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). Our observations reveal that the 12-hour tide has a large amplitude and a clearly defined seasonal cycle with monthly mean values as large as 35 ms−1. We observe substantial interannual variability, exhibiting 2σ range in monthly mean 12-hour tidal amplitudes at the height of 95 km in spring of 13.4 ms−1, 11.2 ms−1 in summer, 18.6 ms−1 in autumn and 7.0 ms−1 in winter. We find that F10.7, QBO10, QBO30, SAM and time all have significant correlations to the 12-hour tidal amplitudes at the 95% level, with a linear trend also present. Whereas we detect very minimal correlation with ENSO. These results suggest that variations in F10.7, the QBO and SAM may contribute significantly to the interannual variability of 12-hour tidal amplitudes in the Antarctic MLT.

We conducted simulations with a 4-km resolution for Hurricane Joaquin in 2015 using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model. The model data are used to study stratospheric gravity waves (GWs) generated by the hurricane and how they correlate with hurricane intensity. The simulation results show spiral GWs propagating upward and anticlockwise away from the hurricane center. GWs with vertical wavelengths up to 14 km are generated. We find that GW activity is more frequent and intense during hurricane intensification than during weakening, particularly for the most intense GW activity. There are significant correlations between the change of stratospheric GW intensity and hurricane intensity. Therefore, the emergence of intensive stratospheric GW activity may be considered a useful proxy for identifying hurricane intensification.

We conduct a mesoscale simulation with a 4-km resolution for Hurricane Joaquin in 2015 using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model. The model data are used to study stratospheric gravity waves (GWs) generated by the hurricane and how they correlate with hurricane intensity. The simulation results show spiral GWs propagating upward and anticlockwise away from the hurricane center. GWs with vertical wavelengths up to 14 km are generated. We find that GW activity is more frequent during hurricane intensification than during weakening, particularly for the most intense GW activity. There is a significant time offset between the appearance of intense stratospheric GWs and hurricane intensification. Therefore, the emergence of intensive stratospheric GW activity may be considered a useful proxy for identifying hurricane intensification.