The mean zonal wind effect on the long-term variation of ultra-fast Kelvin waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere and in the upper stratosphere

Abstract

This study investigates 14-year ultra-fast Kelvin wave (UFKW) activity in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) and in the upper stratosphere where the mesopause semiannual oscillation (MSAO) and the stratopause semiannual oscillation (SSAO) dominate the two altitude regions, respectively. The wave properties are derived from SABER temperature data for the period from 2003 to 2016 by two-dimensional fast Fourier transform. The investigations focus on the UFKW with zonal wavenumber 1 and periods of 2.5–4.5 days. The spectra, daily variations, and seasonal variations of UFKW are investigated. The wave activity is also compared with the background zonal wind derived from the horizontal wind model 2014 (HWM14) for the MLT region and from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) interim reanalysis for the upper stratosphere. The results are that periods of UFKW are mainly in the range of 2.5–4.5 days, but the dominated periods change from year to year. The UFKW amplitudes increase with altitude, and the largest amplitudes occur at altitudes above 90 km. Above 95 km, the mean zonal wind is westward at all times and the amplitude of UFKW is large most of the time. In the MLT region and the upper stratosphere, the large-amplitude UFKW tend to occur in the westward phase of the MSAO and the SSAO. The seasonal variation of UFKW in the MLT region and the upper stratosphere both show a semiannual variation in which the maximum and the secondary maximum are in August and February, respectively. The correlation analysis shows that the time lags between the 90-km wave variation and lower altitude wave variations do not match the theoretical expectation of the wave upward velocity. Finally, the MSAO and the SSAO act like two filters, which modify the wave amplitude and result in different daily variations in the MLT region and in the upper stratosphere.