Global temperature stationary planetary waves extending from 20 to 120 km observed by TIMED/SABER

Abstract

Version 1.07 temperature measurements from SABER instrument on board of TIMED satellite during 2006–2007 are used to study the temperature stationary planetary waves (SPWs) from 20 to 120 km. To cover the high latitudes in both hemispheres (80°S–80°N) and most local times, 120‐day data are combined together into one data set. The most pronounced SPW features are the large amplitudes in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere (UMLT), while the SPWs below 90–95 km share common features with previous observations. In both hemispheric UMLT, SPWs amplitudes are large at middle and high latitudes throughout the year while their amplitudes in tropics are small. Wave 1 activity is generally stronger than the corresponding wave 2 activity with maximum amplitudes larger than 15 K, occurring at about 60°–70° north or south at the altitudes between 112 km and 119 km. Wave 1 amplitudes are larger in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) than in the Northern Hemisphere (NH). Their phases are normally tilt westward with increasing height below ∼110 km. Above this altitude, the wave 1 and wave 2 phases remain nearly unchanged with height, indicating the in situ generations and no propagations. Comparisons between the observed SPW structures and those from the NRLMSISE‐00 model have been done. Result shows their consistent features below ∼80 km and that NRLMSISE‐00 model gives no SPW information from 95 to 125 km but does have longitudinal variations above ∼125 km that are similar to the observed SPW features above ∼110 km.