Abstract
In the polar region of the upper mesosphere, horizontal wind oscillations have been observed with periods around 10 hours. Waves with such periods are generated in our Numerical Spectral Model (NSM), and they are identified as planetary‐scale inertio gravity waves (IGW). These waves have periods between 9 and 11 hours and appear above 70 km in the zonal mean (m = 0), as well as in m = 1 to 4 propagating eastward and westward. They grow in magnitude to altitudes near 100 km and have vertical wavelengths of about 25 km. The m = 1 westward IGWs have the largest amplitudes, up to 30 m/s at the poles. The IGWs occur intermittently but reveal systematic seasonal variations. Their amplitudes generally are largest in late winter and spring. Numerical experiments show that the waves also appear without tidal excitation. Like the planetary waves in the model, the IGWs are produced by instabilities that arise in the mean zonal circulation.
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