Atmospheric Temperature Structure Research Articles

Joint 1DVar retrievals of tropospheric temperature and water vapor from Global Navigation Satellite System radio occultation (GNSS-RO) and microwave radiometer observations

Abstract. Global Navigation Satellite System radio occultation (GNSS-RO) and microwave radiometry (MWR) are two of the most impactful spaceborne remote sensing techniques for numerical weather prediction (NWP). These two techniques provide complementary information about atmospheric temperature and water vapor structure. GNSS-RO provides high vertical resolution measurements with cloud penetration capability, but the temperature and moisture are coupled in the GNSS-RO retrieval process and their separation requires the use of a priori information or auxiliary observations. On the other hand, the MWR measures brightness temperature (Tb) in numerous frequency bands related to the temperature and water vapor structure but is limited by poor vertical resolution (> 2 km) and precipitation. In this study, we combine these two technologies in an optimal estimation approach, 1D variation method (1DVar), to improve the characterization of the complex thermodynamic structures in the lower troposphere. This study employs both simulated and operational observations. GNSS-RO bending angle and MWR Tb observations are used as inputs to the joint retrieval, where bending can be modeled by an Abel integral and Tb can be modeled by a radiative transfer model (RTM) that takes into account atmospheric absorption, as well as surface reflection and emission. By incorporating the forward operators into the 1DVar method, the strength of both techniques can be combined to bridge individual weaknesses. Applying 1DVar to the data simulated from large eddy simulation (LES) is shown to reduce GNSS-RO temperature and water vapor retrieval biases at the lower troposphere while simultaneously capturing the fine-scale variability that MWR cannot resolve. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to quantify the impact of the a priori information and error covariance used in different retrieval scenarios. The applicability of 1DVar joint retrieval to the actual GNSS-RO and MWR observations is also demonstrated through combining collocated COSMIC-2 and Suomi-NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) measurements.

Response of stratospheric water vapour to warming constrained by satellite observations

Future increases in stratospheric water vapour risk amplifying climate change and slowing down the recovery of the ozone layer. However, state-of-the-art climate models strongly disagree on the magnitude of these increases under global warming. Uncertainty primarily arises from the complex processes leading to dehydration of air during its tropical ascent into the stratosphere. Here we derive an observational constraint on this longstanding uncertainty. We use a statistical-learning approach to infer historical co-variations between the atmospheric temperature structure and tropical lower stratospheric water vapour concentrations. For climate models, we demonstrate that these historically constrained relationships are highly predictive of the water vapour response to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. We obtain an observationally constrained range for stratospheric water vapour changes per degree of global warming of 0.31 ± 0.39 ppmv K−1. Across 61 climate models, we find that a large fraction of future model projections are inconsistent with observational evidence. In particular, frequently projected strong increases (>1 ppmv K−1) are highly unlikely. Our constraint represents a 50% decrease in the 95th percentile of the climate model uncertainty distribution, which has implications for surface warming, ozone recovery and the tropospheric circulation response under climate change.

Characterization of the middle and upper atmosphere temperatures by Rayleigh scattering Lidar

The temperature plays a critical role in atmospheric research. A measurement system based on Rayleigh scattering Lidar was developed in this study to detect mid and upper-level atmospheric temperature. To analyze the error introduced by the calibration point temperature, the echo signal was simulated. The continuously measured atmospheric temperature structure is stable. The measured atmospheric temperature profile follows the same trend as the atmospheric mode, as shown by comparison with different modes and balloons. The mean difference between the measured atmospheric temperature and the balloon temperature is 2.59 K, with the error mostly concentrated below 5 K. Continuous observation of atmospheric temperature using the system revealed the occurrence of temperature-induced gravity waves at a vertical wavelength from 2 to 3 km at an altitude between 30 and 45 m. Partial fragmentation occurs when energy dissipation is performed in the low-frequency mode from 38 to 45 km. This system was demonstrated to effectively detect temperature and continuously observe gravity waves, with its accuracy confirmed by comparison with balloon temperature measurements.

An idealized sensitivity study of fine particles' impact on the urban vertical temperature structure

Fine particles (PM2.5) scatter and absorb solar radiation affecting the atmospheric temperature structure, and the effects vary with different concentrations and compositions. This study investigated the effect of PM2.5 on the urban temperature structure of Nanjing through concentration- and species-sensitive experiments using a box model. The results show that the optical parameters, atmospheric heating rate, radiative forcing, and temperature are affected by the PM2.5 concentration, PM2.5 composition, and relative humidity. Under 80% relative humidity, the asymmetry and single scattering albedo (SSA) were 0.7 and 0.88, while under 20% relative humidity, they were 0.6 and 0.77, respectively. PM2.5 increased the atmospheric heating rate by 1–18 K/day; while the surface temperature decreased with the presence of PM2.5. Furthermore, the heterogeneous concentration and composition distributions of PM2.5 led to changes in urban heat island (UHI) intensity. The UHI intensity could be reduced by 1–3 K by PM2.5, and the reduction increased with the increase in PM2.5 concentration and absorbing compositions. The existence of absorbing compositions and high concentrations of PM2.5 may work together to mask the UHI effect and other problems of urban development from 2000s till the present.

Temperature Structures Associated with Different Components of the Atmospheric Circulation on Tidally Locked Exoplanets

Observations of time-resolved thermal emission from tidally locked exoplanets can tell us about their atmospheric temperature structure. Telescopes such as JWST and ARIEL will improve the quality and availability of these measurements. This motivates an improved understanding of the processes that determine atmospheric temperature structure, particularly atmospheric circulation. The circulation is important in determining atmospheric temperatures, not only through its ability to transport heat, but also because any circulation pattern needs to be balanced by horizontal pressure contrasts, therefore implying a particular temperature structure. In this work, we show how the global temperature field on a tidally locked planet can be decomposed into contributions that are balanced by different components of the atmospheric circulation. These are the superrotating jet, stationary Rossby waves, and the divergent circulation. To achieve this, we partition the geopotential field into components balanced by the divergent circulation and the rotational circulation, with the latter comprising the jet and Rossby waves. The partitioned geopotential then implies a corresponding partitioning of the temperature via the hydrostatic relation. We apply these diagnostics to idealized general circulation model simulations, to show how the separate rotational and divergent circulations together make up the total three-dimensional atmospheric temperature structure. We also show how each component contributes distinct signatures to the thermal phase curve of a tidally locked planet. We conclude that this decomposition is a physically meaningful separation of the temperature field that explains its global structure, and can be used to fit observations of thermal emission.

A Temperature Trend for Clouds and Hazes in Exoplanet Atmospheres

Abstract The transmission spectra of exoplanet atmospheres observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in the near-infrared range (1.1–1.65 μm) frequently show evidence for some combination of clouds and hazes. Identification of systematic trends in exoplanet clouds and hazes is potentially important for understanding atmospheric composition and temperature structure. Here we report on the analysis of spectral modulation using a large, uniformly processed sample of HST/WFC3 transit spectra from 62 exoplanets. The spectral retrieval includes the capability to detect and represent atmospheres in which the composition departs from thermochemical equilibrium. By using this unique catalog and measuring the dampening of spectral modulations compared to strictly clear atmospheres, we identify two populations. One is completely cloud/haze free spanning a wide temperature range, while the other population, identified as “partial cloud/hazes,” follows a trend from mostly cloudy/hazy around 500 K to mostly clear at ∼1500 K. We also find that a partially transparent aerosol component is frequently present and that it is typically vertically distributed throughout the atmospheric column. Our findings also suggest that while clouds and hazes are common in exoplanet atmospheres, the majority of planets have some level of detectable spectral modulation. Additionally, the empirical trend that clouds and hazes are minimized at 1460.86 K − 405 + 316 revealed in our catalog has predictive utility for modeling the performance of large-scale transiting exoplanets survey, such as planned with the Ariel mission. This trend can also be used for making a probability-based forecast of spectral modulation for a given source in the context of future JWST observations. Future observations including the optical and/or a broader spectral coverage may be useful to further quantify the trend reported here.

Atmospheric model inversion using infrasound signals from the North Korean underground nuclear explosion and the subsequent collapse event in 2017

SUMMARY This study focuses on the infrasound signals from the September 2017 North Korean underground nuclear explosion (UNE17) and subsequent collapse event (SCE17) that occurred close to the autumnal equinox when the atmospheric temperature structure undergoes rapid change. Multiple arrivals, including contributions from local, diffracted and epicentral infrasound, generated by UNE17, were observed at eight infrasound arrays in the Korean Peninsula and one IMS infrasound station (IS45) in Russia while at the closest five arrays for SCE17 only epicentral infrasound was observed. The UNE17 signals provide the opportunity to explore the utility of each distinct arrival in constraining atmospheric conditions during the change associated with the equinox. The observed characteristics of the multiple epicentral infrasonic phases (celerity, backazimuth, phase velocity and spectra) suggest propagation paths through the tropospheric, stratospheric and thermospheric waveguides, although geometric ray paths based on a global atmospheric model at the time of the explosion predict only thermospheric returns. The absence of predicted stratospheric returns may reflect errors in the atmospheric models due to the lack of predicted stratospheric winds which are weak and changing close to the autumnal equinox or the limited resolution of the fine-scale structure not captured by current atmospheric models. The differences between the model predictions and the observations suggest that the numerical weather forecast models need to be modified to fully explain the observations. In order to explore the model space that can explain the UNE17 data set, an inversion scheme is applied to atmospheric wind model parameters constrained by the multi-array observations. Zonal and meridional wind profiles are parametrized using empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) estimated from 1-yr of Ground-to-Space atmospheric specifications. A best-fitting atmospheric model is estimated using a Bayesian approach that assesses the uncertainty in the inverse solution using a joint likelihood function combining components of azimuth deviation, traveltime and phase velocity. The updated atmospheric models from six different EOFs inversions have up to 20 m s–1 stronger zonal and meridional wind speeds in the stratosphere compared to the original model, and explain the stratospheric observations in the data set. This investigation illustrates that modest changes to atmospheric wind models at the time of autumnal equinox can improve the prediction of stratospheric returns.

Exoplanet Atmosphere Retrievals in 3D Using Phase Curve Data with ARCiS: Application to WASP-43b

Aims. Our goal is to create a retrieval framework which encapsulates the three-dimensional (3D) nature of exoplanet atmospheres, and to apply it to observed emission phase curve and transmission spectra of the ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet WASP-43b. Methods. We present our 3D framework, which is freely available as a stand-alone module from GitHub. We use the atmospheric modelling and Bayesian retrieval package ARCiS (ARtful modelling Code for exoplanet Science) to perform a series of eight 3D retrievals on simultaneous transmission (HST/WFC3) and phase-dependent emission (HST/WFC3 and Spitzer/IRAC) observations of WASP-43b as a case study. Via these retrieval setups, we assess how input assumptions affect our retrieval outcomes. In particular we look at constraining equilibrium chemistry vs. a free molecular retrieval, the case of no clouds vs. parametrised clouds, and using Spitzer phase data that have been reduced from two different literature sources. For the free chemistry retrievals, we retrieve abundances of H2O, CH4, CO, CO2, AlO, and NH3 as a function of phase, with many more species considered for the equilibrium chemistry retrievals. Results. We find consistent super-solar C/O (0.6–0.9) and super-solar metallicities (1.7–2.9 dex) for all retrieval setups that assume equilibrium chemistry. We find that atmospheric heat distribution, hotspot shift (≈15.6° vs. 4.5° for the different Spitzer datasets), and temperature structure are very influenced by the choice of Spitzer emission phase data. We see some trends in molecular abundances as a function of phase, in particular for CH4 and H2O. Comparisons are made with other studies of WASP-43b, including global climate model (GCM) simulations, available in the literature. Conclusions. The parametrised 3D setup we have developed provides a valuable tool to analyse extensive observational datasets such as spectroscopic phase curves. We conclude that further near-future observations with missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope and Ariel will greatly improve our understanding of the atmospheres of exoplanets such as WASP-43b. This is particularly evident from the effect that the current phase-dependent Spitzer emission data has on retrieved atmospheres.

Detection of iron emission lines and a temperature inversion on the dayside of the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-20b

Ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) are gas giants with very high equilibrium temperatures. In recent years, multiple chemical species, including various atoms and ions, have been discovered in their atmospheres. Most of these observations have been performed with transmission spectroscopy, although UHJs are also ideal targets for emission spectroscopy due to their strong thermal radiation. We present high-resolution thermal emission spectroscopy of the transiting UHJ KELT-20b/MASCARA-2b. The observation was performed with the CARMENES spectrograph at orbital phases before and after the secondary eclipse. We detected atomic Fe using the cross-correlation technique. The detected Fe lines are in emission, which unambiguously indicates a temperature inversion on the dayside hemisphere. We furthermore retrieved the temperature structure with the detected Fe lines. The result shows that the atmosphere has a strong temperature inversion with a temperature of 4900 ± 700 K and a pressure of 10−4.8−1.1+1.0 bar at the upper layer of the inversion. A joint retrieval of the CARMENES data and the TESS secondary eclipse data returns a temperature of 2550−250+150 K and a pressure of 10−1.5−0.6+0.7 bar at the lower layer of the temperature inversion. The detection of such a strong temperature inversion is consistent with theoretical simulations that predict an inversion layer on the dayside of UHJs. The joint retrieval of the CARMENES and TESS data demonstrates the power of combing high-resolution emission spectroscopy with secondary eclipse photometry in characterizing atmospheric temperature structures.

Observing the climate impact of large wildfires on stratospheric temperature

Wildfires are expected to become more frequent and intense in the future. They not only pose a serious threat to humans and ecosystems, but also affect Earth’s atmosphere. Wildfire plumes can reach into the stratosphere, but little is known about their climate impact. Here, we reveal observational evidence that major wildfires can have a severe impact on the atmospheric temperature structure and short-term climate in the stratosphere. Using advanced satellite observation, we find substantial warming of up to 10 K of the lower stratosphere within the wildfire plumes during their early development. The short-term climate signal in the lower stratosphere lasts several months and amounts to 1 K for the Northern American wildfires in 2017, and up to striking 3.5 K for the Australian wildfires in 2020. This is stronger than any signal from recent volcanic eruptions. Such extreme events affect atmospheric composition and climate trends, underpinning their importance for future climate.

Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium effects determine the upper atmospheric temperature structure of the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-9b

Context. Several observational and theoretical results indicate that the atmospheric temperature of the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-9b in the main line formation region is a few thousand degrees higher than predicted by self-consistent models. Aims. Our aim was to test whether non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects are responsible for the presumably higher temperature. Methods. We employed the Cloudy NLTE radiative transfer code to self-consistently compute the upper atmospheric temperature-pressure (TP) profile of KELT-9b, assuming solar metallicity and accounting for Roche potential. In the lower atmosphere, we used an updated version of the HELIOS radiative-convective equilibrium code to constrain the Cloudy model. Results. The Cloudy NLTE TP profile is ≈2000 K hotter than that obtained with previous models assuming LTE. In particular, in the 1–10−7 bar range the temperature increases from ≈4000 to ≈8500 K, remaining roughly constant at lower pressures. We find that the high temperature in the upper atmosphere of KELT-9b is driven principally by NLTE effects modifying the Fe and Mg level populations, which strongly influence the atmospheric thermal balance. We employed Cloudy to compute LTE and NLTE synthetic transmission spectra on the basis of the TP profiles computed in LTE and NLTE, respectively, finding that the NLTE model generally produces stronger absorption lines, particularly in the ultraviolet, than the LTE model (up to 30%). We compared the NLTE synthetic transmission spectrum with the observed Hα and Hβ line profiles obtaining an excellent match, thus supporting our results. Conclusions. The NLTE synthetic transmission spectrum can be used to guide future observations aiming at detecting features in the KELT-9b transmission spectrum. Metals, such as Mg and Fe, and NLTE effects shape the upper atmospheric temperature structure of KELT-9b, and thus affect the mass-loss rates derived from it. Finally, our results call for checking whether this is the case also for cooler planets.

The 13CO-rich atmosphere of a young accreting super-Jupiter.

Isotope abundance ratios have an important role in astronomy and planetary sciences, providing insights into the origin and evolution of the Solar System, interstellar chemistry and stellar nucleosynthesis1,2. In contrast to deuterium/hydrogen ratios, carbon isotope ratios are found to be roughly constant (around 89) in the Solar System1,3, but do vary on galactic scales with a 12C/13C isotopologue ratio of around 68 in the current local interstellar medium4-6. In molecular clouds and protoplanetary disks, 12CO/13CO ratios can be altered by ice and gas partitioning7, low-temperature isotopic ion-exchange reactions8 and isotope-selective photodissociation9. Here we report observations of 13CO in the atmosphere of the young, accreting super-Jupiter TYC8998-760-1b, at a statistical significance of more than six sigma. Marginalizing over the planet's atmospheric temperature structure, chemical composition and spectral calibration uncertainties suggests a 12CO/13CO ratio of [Formula: see text](90% confidence), a substantial enrichment in 13C with respect to the terrestrial standard and the local interstellar value. As the current location of TYC8998-760-1b at greater than or equal to160 astronomical units is far beyond the CO snowline, we postulate that it accreted a substantial fraction of its carbon from ices enriched in 13C through fractionation.

Analytic, dust-independent mass-loss rates for red supergiant winds initiated by turbulent pressure

Context.Red supergiants are observed to undergo vigorous mass loss. However, to date, no theoretical model has succeeded in explaining the origins of these objects’ winds. This strongly limits our understanding of red supergiant evolution and Type II-P and II-L supernova progenitor properties.Aims.We examine the role that vigorous atmospheric turbulence may play in initiating and determining the mass-loss rates of red supergiant stars.Methods.We analytically and numerically solve the equations of conservation of mass and momentum, which we later couple to an atmospheric temperature structure, to obtain theoretically motivated mass-loss rates. We then compare these to state-of-the-art empirical mass-loss rate scaling formulae as well as observationally inferred mass-loss rates of red supergiants.Results.We find that the pressure due to the characteristic turbulent velocities inferred for red supergiants is sufficient to explain the mass-loss rates of these objects in the absence of the normally employed opacity from circumstellar dust. Motivated by this initial success, we provide a first theoretical and fully analytic mass-loss rate prescription for red supergiants. We conclude by highlighting some intriguing possible implications of these rates for future studies of stellar evolution, especially in light of the lack of a direct dependence on metallicity.

A data-driven approach to constraining the atmospheric temperature structure of the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-9b

Context. Observationally constraining the atmospheric temperature-pressure (TP) profile of exoplanets is an important step forward for improving planetary atmosphere models, thus further enabling one to place the detection of spectral features and the measurement of atomic and molecular abundances through transmission and emission spectroscopy on solid ground. Aims. The aim is to constrain the TP profile of the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-9b by fitting synthetic spectra to the observed Hα and Hβ lines and identify why self-consistent planetary TP models are unable to fit the observations. Methods. We constructed 126 one-dimensional TP profiles varying the lower and upper atmospheric temperatures, as well as the location and gradient of the temperature rise. For each TP profile, we computed the transmission spectra of the Hα and Hβ lines employing the Cloudy radiative transfer code, which self-consistently accounts for non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects. Results. The TP profiles, leading to best fit the observations, are characterised by an upper atmospheric temperature of 10 000–11 000 K and by an inverted temperature profile at pressures higher than 10−4 bar. We find that the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) leads one to overestimate the level population of excited hydrogen by several orders of magnitude and hence to significantly overestimate the strength of the Balmer lines. The chemical composition of the best fitting models indicate that the high upper atmospheric temperature is most likely driven by metal photoionisation and that FeII and FeIII have comparable abundances at pressures lower than 10−6 bar, possibly making the latter detectable. Conclusions. Modelling the atmospheres of ultra-hot Jupiters requires one to account for metal photoionisation. The high atmospheric mass-loss rate (>1011 g s−1), caused by the high temperature, may have consequences on the planetary atmospheric evolution. Other ultra-hot Jupiters orbiting early-type stars may be characterised by similarly high upper atmospheric temperatures and hence high mass-loss rates. This may have consequences on the basic properties of the observed planets orbiting hot stars.

A new set of atmosphere and evolution models for cool T–Y brown dwarfs and giant exoplanets

We present a new set of solar metallicity atmosphere and evolutionary models for very cool brown dwarfs and self-luminous giant exoplanets, which we term ATMO 2020. Atmosphere models are generated with our state-of-the-art 1D radiative-convective equilibrium code ATMO, and are used as surface boundary conditions to calculate the interior structure and evolution of 0.001–0.075 M⊙ objects. Our models include several key improvements to the input physics used in previous models available in the literature. Most notably, the use of a new H–He equation of state including ab initio quantum molecular dynamics calculations has raised the mass by ~1−2% at the stellar–substellar boundary and has altered the cooling tracks around the hydrogen and deuterium burning minimum masses. A second key improvement concerns updated molecular opacities in our atmosphere model ATMO, which now contains significantly more line transitions required to accurately capture the opacity in these hot atmospheres. This leads to warmer atmospheric temperature structures, further changing the cooling curves and predicted emission spectra of substellar objects. We present significant improvement for the treatment of the collisionally broadened potassium resonance doublet, and highlight the importance of these lines in shaping the red-optical and near-infrared spectrum of brown dwarfs. We generate three different grids of model simulations, one using equilibrium chemistry and two using non-equilibrium chemistry due to vertical mixing, all three computed self-consistently with the pressure-temperature structure of the atmosphere. We show the impact of vertical mixing on emission spectra and in colour-magnitude diagrams, highlighting how the 3.5−5.5 μm flux window can be used to calibrate vertical mixing in cool T–Y spectral type objects.

Lidar Observation of Mesospheric Clouds Above Beijing: A Case Study

We report on the first observation of mesospheric cloud (MC) at the altitude range of 50-65 km with lidars at Yanqing (40.5°N, 116°E) and Pingquan (41°N, 118.7°E) on 30 October 2018. The MC occurred at the 51-56 km altitude range during the hours of dawn. It had an obvious double-layer structure, but the cloud layer was sparse. The MC was re-observed at the 56-62 km altitude range in the twilight, and the double-layer structure was still obvious. However, the cloud layer became thicker with a maximum volume backscatter coefficient (BSC) 3.1×10−10m−1sr−1. Atmospheric temperature structure was derived according to the lidar observations, and it was found that, several hours before the MC occurrence, a temperature anomaly with coldest temperature ~185 K was propagating downward at the altitudes of 50-65 km. This MC layer was simultaneously observed with lidar at Pingquan in the twilight. It could be a regional MC event and possibly formed locally by a transient cooling due to small-scale disturbances in the mesosphere.

Observationally constrained aerosol\u2013cloud semi-direct effects

Absorbing aerosols, like black carbon (BC), give rise to rapid adjustments, and the associated perturbation to the atmospheric temperature structure alters the cloud distribution. The level of scientific understanding of these rapid cloud adjustments—otherwise known as semi-direct effects (SDEs)—is considered low, with models indicating a likely negative (−0.44 to +0.1 Wm−2) forcing. Recent studies suggest this negative SDE is primarily driven by decreases in high-level clouds and enhanced longwave cooling. Here, we investigate the SDE using multiple models driven by observationally constrained fine-mode aerosol forcing without dust and sea salt. Unlike aerosol simulations, which yield a relatively vertically uniform aerosol atmospheric heating profile with significant upper-tropospheric heating, observation-based heating peaks in the lower-troposphere and then decays to zero in the mid-troposphere. We find a significant global annual mean decrease in low- and mid-level clouds, and weaker decreases in high-level clouds, which leads to a positive SDE dominated by shortwave radiation. Thus, in contrast to most studies, we find a robust positive SDE, implying cloud adjustments act to warm the climate system. Sensitivity tests with identical average, but vertically uniform observationally constrained aerosol atmospheric heating result in a negative SDE, due to enhanced longwave cooling as a result of large reductions in high-level clouds. Our results therefore suggest that model simulations lead to a negatively biased SDE, due to an aerosol atmospheric heating profile that is too vertically uniform.

Southern Martian winter weather associated with baroclinic topography forced Rossby waves: analysing by Global Mars Multiscale Model

Meteorological and physical results from the Global Mars Multiscale Model (GM3) are used for investigating the impact of zonally asymmetric topography on atmospheric temperature and wind structures of Martian southern winter weather associated with the forced topographical Rossby waves. Analysis of the numerical simulations reveals significant thermal and wind patterns at the southern mid and high latitudes during southern winter due to the impact of asymmetric topography. This study shows the presence of warm air advection at southern high latitudes mostly around the cryptic regions controls by a warm ridge and the cold air advection at mid-latitudes is around the Hellas and Argyre basins associated with two cold troughs. Also, there is large temperature advection fluctuation around $50^{\circ}\mbox{S}$ causing by topographical aspects of Hellas and Argyre basins rather than flat topography simulation. This is associated with the baroclinicity structure causing by topography in Martian mid-latitudes. This can act to moderate the temperature field in the Martian southern hemisphere weather during wintertime because of the wind pattern structures. Also, the winter time south zonal westerly jet stream analysis shows the development of disturbances structure (meandering) in the north side of the jet dependent of longitudinal structure of Martian southern topography with a wave-like pattern below the Hellas and Argyre basins. Also, the vertical structure of the zonal wind shows the appearance of a vertical wind shear around $78^{\circ}\mbox{S}$ with smoothly tilting to the higher altitudes associated with the baroclinic structure of the southern Martian winter weather associated with the baroclinic forced topography Rossby waves.

An Alternative Bias Correction Scheme for CrIS Data Assimilation in a Regional Model

Bias correction (BC) is a crucial step for satellite radiance data assimilation (DA). In this study, the traditional airmass BC scheme in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) is investigated for Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) DA. The ability of the airmass predictors to model CrIS biases is diagnosed. Correlations between CrIS observation-minus-background ( O − B) samples and the two lapse rate–related airmass predictors employed by GSI are found to be very weak, indicating that the bias correction contributed by the airmass BC scheme is small. A modified BC scheme, which directly calculates the moving average of O − B departures from data of the previous 2 weeks with respect to scan position and latitudinal band, is proposed and tested. The impact of the modified BC scheme on CrIS radiance DA is compared with the variational airmass BC scheme. Results from 1-month analysis/forecast experiments show that the modified BC scheme removes nearly all scan-dependent and latitude-dependent biases, while residual biases are still found in some channels when the airmass BC scheme is applied. Smaller predicted root-mean-square errors of temperature and specific humidity and higher equivalent threat scores are obtained by the DA experiment using the modified BC scheme. If O − B samples are replaced by observation-minus-analysis ( O − A) samples for bias estimates in the modified BC scheme, the forecast impacts are reduced but remain positive. A convective precipitation case that occurred on 21 August 2016 is investigated. Using the modified BC scheme, the atmospheric temperature structure and the geopotential height structures near trough/ridge areas are better resolved, resulting in better precipitation forecasts.

Gravity Wave Propagation from the Stratosphere into the Mesosphere Studied with Lidar, Meteor Radar, and TIMED/SABER

A low-frequency inertial atmospheric gravity wave (AGW) event was studied with lidar (40.5° N, 116° E), meteor radar (40.3° N, 116.2° E), and TIMED/SABER at Beijing on 30 May 2012. Lidar measurements showed that the atmospheric temperature structure was persistently perturbed by AGWs propagating upward from the stratosphere into the mesosphere (35–86 km). The dominant contribution was from the waves with vertical wavelengths λ z = 8 − 10 km and wave periods T ob = 6.6 ± 0.7 h . Simultaneous observations from a meteor radar illustrated that MLT horizontal winds were perturbed by waves propagating upward with an azimuth angle of θ = 247 ° , and the vertical wavelength ( λ z = 10 km ) and intrinsic period ( T in = 7.4 h ) of the dominant waves were inferred with the hodograph method. TIMED/SABER measurements illustrated that the vertical temperature profiles were also perturbed by waves with dominant vertical wavelength λ z = 6 − 9 km . Observations from three different instruments were compared, and it was found that signatures in the temperature perturbations and horizontal winds were induced by identical AGWs. According to these coordinated observation results, the horizontal wavelength and intrinsic phase speed were inferred to be ~560 km and ~21 m/s, respectively. Analyses of the Brunt-Väisälä frequency and potential energy illustrated that this persistent wave propagation had good static stability.