Thermal structure of the winter middle atmosphere observed by lidar at Thule, Greenland, during 1993–1994
✍ Scribed by F. Marenco; A. di^Sarra; M. Cacciani; G. Fiocco; D. Fuà
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1997
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 729 KB
- Volume
- 59
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1364-6826
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✦ Synopsis
Lidar measurement of the atmospheric temperature in the 30-70 km height region have been carried out from Thule, Greenland, through winter 199331994, with increased frequency during January 1994. The lidar profiles are in agreement with radiosonde measurements in the overlapping region. Comparison of the lidar data with the CIRA model indicates that the January temperature is consistently below the model value throughout the middle stratosphere.
The profiles show large variability, as expected for the high latitude winter middle atmosphere.
The evolution of the temperature has been related to minor warming events. The stratopause height and temperature vary considerably during the evolution of the phenomenon.
The temperature variations in the stratosphere and mesosphere appear to be negatively correlated. Two 'quiet layers' are observed, and their altitudes correspond to the extrema and the nodes of Quasi-Stationary Planetary Wave 1. This confirms the prominence in January 1994 of the Planetary Wave 1 oscillations in the middle atmosphere temperature variations during winter at high latitudes.