Global structure and long‐term variations of zonal mean temperature observed by TIMED/SABER

Abstract

In this paper, we present a method of extracting zonal mean temperature and tides from TIMED/SABER satellite and discuss the features of the zonal mean temperature. The global temperature structure is presented, and the mean variations at each latitude and altitude are decomposed into semiannual (SAO), annual (AO), and quasi‐biennial (QBO) components. The SAO is strong in the tropical upper stratosphere, mesosphere, and lower thermosphere. The SAO phase (measured by the time of the maximum) is at the equinox at 85 km and at solstice at 75 km. The amplitude is large compared to the annual mean temperature structure, which leads to a mesospheric inversion layer (MIL) in the zonal mean temperature around the equator at equinox. The AO is most evident at middle latitudes and displays a clear hemispheric asymmetry at solstices. The QBO in temperature is strongest in the tropical lower stratosphere; its period there is 26.6 months. There are also weak QBO signals near the mesopause and throughout the middle atmosphere at midlatitudes. The analysis of longer‐term variations of the zonal mean temperature, probably affected by the solar cycle but also containing any other trends, indicates that in most regions, the zonal mean temperature decreases during the period of 5 years and is positively correlated with the solar radiation. These results use version 1.06 of the SABER temperature data, which have some known biases in the vicinity of the mesopause.