High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder Research Articles

A mountain ridge model for quantifying oblique mountain wave propagation and distribution

Abstract. Following the current understanding of gravity waves (GWs) and especially mountain waves (MWs), they have a high potential for horizontal propagation from their source. This horizontal propagation and therefore the transport of energy is usually not well represented in MW parameterizations of numerical weather prediction and general circulation models. In this study, we present a mountain wave model (MWM) for the quantification of horizontal propagation of orographic gravity waves. This model determines MW source locations from topography data and estimates MW parameters from a fit of idealized Gaussian-shaped mountains to the elevation. Propagation and refraction of these MWs in the atmosphere are modeled using the Gravity-wave Regional Or Global Ray Tracer (GROGRAT). Ray tracing of each MW individually allows for an estimation of momentum transport due to both vertical and horizontal propagation. The MWM is a capable tool for the analysis of MW propagation and global MW activity and can support the understanding of observations and improvement of MW parameterizations in GCMs. This study presents the model itself and gives validations of MW-induced temperature perturbations to ECMWF Integrated Forecast System (IFS) numerical weather prediction data and estimations of GW momentum flux (GWMF) compared to HIgh Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) satellite observations. The MWM is capable of reproducing the general features and amplitudes of both of these data sets and, in addition, is used to explain some observational features by investigating MW parameters along their trajectories.

Exploiting High‐Density Zonal‐Sampling of HIRDLS Profiles Near 60°S to Investigate Missing Drag in Chemistry‐Climate Models

AbstractThis study exploits the high‐density zonal sampling at the turnaround latitude of the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) in the Southern Hemisphere to investigate the missing drag in chemistry‐climate models near 60°S. Gravity wave (GW) properties including amplitude, zonal wavenumber, vertical wavelength, and momentum flux are estimated with a wave analysis method based on the S‐transform. Monthly means of GW properties compare well with estimates from previous studies. We further investigate the contribution to GW momentum flux above orographic and nonorographic regions and find that while fluxes are much larger locally over orographic regions, the contribution to the zonal mean is roughly 3 times smaller than the contribution over nonorographic regions. We also investigate the relationship with the zonal wind and find that GW momentum flux is highly correlated with the near surface winds over orographic regions. In addition to momentum flux, we also provide estimates of the zonal drag and use these estimates to evaluate the current GW parameterizations and resolved wave forcing in models participating in phase 1 of the Chemistry‐Climate Model Initiative (CCMI‐1). The HIRDLS zonal drag estimates suggest that the CCMI‐1 models have insufficient zonal drag, especially in June, July, and August, and that the majority of the missing drag is over nonorographic regions. Our discussion includes implications for the Brewer‐Dobson Circulation and ozone hole.

GRACILE: a comprehensive climatology of atmospheric gravity wave parameters based on satellite limb soundings

Abstract. Gravity waves are one of the main drivers of atmospheric dynamics. The spatial resolution of most global atmospheric models, however, is too coarse to properly resolve the small scales of gravity waves, which range from tens to a few thousand kilometers horizontally, and from below 1 km to tens of kilometers vertically. Gravity wave source processes involve even smaller scales. Therefore, general circulation models (GCMs) and chemistry climate models (CCMs) usually parametrize the effect of gravity waves on the global circulation. These parametrizations are very simplified. For this reason, comparisons with global observations of gravity waves are needed for an improvement of parametrizations and an alleviation of model biases. We present a gravity wave climatology based on atmospheric infrared limb emissions observed by satellite (GRACILE). GRACILE is a global data set of gravity wave distributions observed in the stratosphere and the mesosphere by the infrared limb sounding satellite instruments High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) and Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER). Typical distributions (zonal averages and global maps) of gravity wave vertical wavelengths and along-track horizontal wavenumbers are provided, as well as gravity wave temperature variances, potential energies and absolute momentum fluxes. This global data set captures the typical seasonal variations of these parameters, as well as their spatial variations. The GRACILE data set is suitable for scientific studies, and it can serve for comparison with other instruments (ground-based, airborne, or other satellite instruments) and for comparison with gravity wave distributions, both resolved and parametrized, in GCMs and CCMs. The GRACILE data set is available as supplementary data at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.879658.

Intercomparison of AIRS and HIRDLS stratospheric gravity wave observations

Abstract. We investigate stratospheric gravity wave observations by the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite and the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) aboard NASA's Aura satellite. AIRS operational temperature retrievals are typically not used for studies of gravity waves, because their vertical and horizontal resolution is rather limited. This study uses data of a high-resolution retrieval which provides stratospheric temperature profiles for each individual satellite footprint. Therefore the horizontal sampling of the high-resolution retrieval is 9 times better than that of the operational retrieval. HIRDLS provides 2-D spectral information of observed gravity waves in terms of along-track and vertical wavelengths. AIRS as a nadir sounder is more sensitive to short-horizontal-wavelength gravity waves, and HIRDLS as a limb sounder is more sensitive to short-vertical-wavelength gravity waves. Therefore HIRDLS is ideally suited to complement AIRS observations. A calculated momentum flux factor indicates that the waves seen by AIRS contribute significantly to momentum flux, even if the AIRS temperature variance may be small compared to HIRDLS. The stratospheric wave structures observed by AIRS and HIRDLS often agree very well. Case studies of a mountain wave event and a non-orographic wave event demonstrate that the observed phase structures of AIRS and HIRDLS are also similar. AIRS has a coarser vertical resolution, which results in an attenuation of the amplitude and coarser vertical wavelengths than for HIRDLS. However, AIRS has a much higher horizontal resolution, and the propagation direction of the waves can be clearly identified in geographical maps. The horizontal orientation of the phase fronts can be deduced from AIRS 3-D temperature fields. This is a restricting factor for gravity wave analyses of limb measurements. Additionally, temperature variances with respect to stratospheric gravity wave activity are compared on a statistical basis. The complete HIRDLS measurement period from January 2005 to March 2008 is covered. The seasonal and latitudinal distributions of gravity wave activity as observed by AIRS and HIRDLS agree well. A strong annual cycle at mid- and high latitudes is found in time series of gravity wave variances at 42 km, which has its maxima during wintertime and its minima during summertime. The variability is largest during austral wintertime at 60∘ S. Variations in the zonal winds at 2.5 hPa are associated with large variability in gravity wave variances. Altogether, gravity wave variances of AIRS and HIRDLS are complementary to each other. Large parts of the gravity wave spectrum are covered by joint observations. This opens up fascinating vistas for future gravity wave research.

Tuning of a convective gravity wave source scheme based on HIRDLS observations

Abstract. Convection as one dominant source of atmospheric gravity waves (GWs) has been the focus of investigation over recent years. However, its spatial and temporal forcing scales are not well known. In this work we address this open issue by a systematic verification of free parameters of the Yonsei convective GW source scheme based on observations from the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS). The instrument can only see a limited portion of the gravity wave spectrum due to visibility effects and observation geometry. To allow for a meaningful comparison of simulated GWs to observations, a comprehensive filter, which mimics the instrument limitations, is applied to the simulated waves. By this approach, only long horizontal-scale convective GWs are addressed. Results show that spectrum, distribution of momentum flux, and zonal mean forcing of long horizontal-scale convective GWs can be successfully simulated by the superposition of three or four combinations of parameter sets reproducing the observed GW spectrum. These selected parameter sets are different for northern and southern summer. Although long horizontal-scale waves are only part of the full spectrum of convective GWs, the momentum flux of these waves is found to be significant and relevant for the driving of the QBO (quasi-biennial oscillation). The zonal momentum balance is considered in vertical cross sections of GW momentum flux (GWMF) and GW drag (GWD). Global maps of the horizontal distribution of GWMF are considered and consistency between simulated results and HIRDLS observations is found. The latitude dependence of the zonal phase speed spectrum of GWMF and its change with altitude is discussed.

Multi-instrument gravity-wave measurements over Tierra del Fuego and the Drake Passage – Part 1: Potential energies and vertical wavelengths from AIRS, COSMIC, HIRDLS, MLS-Aura, SAAMER, SABER and radiosondes

Abstract. Gravity waves in the terrestrial atmosphere are a vital geophysical process, acting to transport energy and momentum on a wide range of scales and to couple the various atmospheric layers. Despite the importance of these waves, the many studies to date have often exhibited very dissimilar results, and it remains unclear whether these differences are primarily instrumental or methodological. Here, we address this problem by comparing observations made by a diverse range of the most widely used gravity-wave-resolving instruments in a common geographic region around the southern Andes and Drake Passage, an area known to exhibit strong wave activity. Specifically, we use data from three limb-sounding radiometers (Microwave Limb Sounder, MLS-Aura; HIgh Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder, HIRDLS; Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry, SABER), the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) GPS-RO constellation, a ground-based meteor radar, the Advanced Infrared Sounder (AIRS) infrared nadir sounder and radiosondes to examine the gravity wave potential energy (GWPE) and vertical wavelengths (λz) of individual gravity-wave packets from the lower troposphere to the edge of the lower thermosphere ( ∼ 100 km). Our results show important similarities and differences. Limb sounder measurements show high intercorrelation, typically > 0.80 between any instrument pair. Meteor radar observations agree in form with the limb sounders, despite vast technical differences. AIRS and radiosonde observations tend to be uncorrelated or anticorrelated with the other data sets, suggesting very different behaviour of the wave field in the different spectral regimes accessed by each instrument. Evidence of wave dissipation is seen, and varies strongly with season. Observed GWPE for individual wave packets exhibits a log-normal distribution, with short-timescale intermittency dominating over a well-repeated monthly-median seasonal cycle. GWPE and λz exhibit strong correlations with the stratospheric winds, but not with local surface winds. Our results provide guidance for interpretation and intercomparison of such data sets in their full context.

HIRDLS observations of global gravity wave absolute momentum fluxes: A wavelet based approach

Using wavelet technique for detection of height varying vertical and horizontal wavelengths of gravity waves, the absolute values of gravity wave momentum fluxes are estimated from High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) temperature measurements. Two years of temperature measurements (2005 December–2007 November) from HIRDLS onboard EOS-Aura satellite over the globe are used for this purpose. The least square fitting method is employed to extract the 0–6 zonal wavenumber planetary wave amplitudes, which are removed from the instantaneous temperature profiles to extract gravity wave fields. The vertical and horizontal wavelengths of the prominent waves are computed using wavelet and cross correlation techniques respectively. The absolute momentum fluxes are then estimated using prominent gravity wave perturbations and their vertical and horizontal wavelengths. The momentum fluxes obtained from HIRDLS are compared with the fluxes obtained from ground based Rayleigh LIDAR observations over a low latitude station, Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E) and are found to be in good agreement. After validation, the absolute gravity wave momentum fluxes over the entire globe are estimated. It is found that the winter hemisphere has the maximum momentum flux magnitudes over the high latitudes with a secondary maximum over the summer hemispheric low-latitudes. The significance of the present study lies in introducing the wavelet technique for estimating the height varying vertical and horizontal wavelengths of gravity waves and validating space based momentum flux estimations using ground based lidar observations.

Life Cycle Management Considerations of Remotely Sensed Geospatial Data and Documentation for Long Term Preservation

As geospatial missions age, one of the challenges for the usability of data is the availability of relevant and updated metadata with sufficient documentation that can be used by future generations of users to gain knowledge from the original data. Given that remote sensing data undergo many intermediate processing steps, for example, an understanding of the exact algorithms employed and the quality of that data produced could be key considerations for these users. As interest in global climate data is increasing, documentation about older data, their origins, and their provenance are valuable to first-time users attempting to perform historical climate research or comparative analysis of global change. Incomplete or missing documentation could be what stands in the way of a new researcher attempting to use the data. Therefore, preservation of documentation and related metadata is sometimes just as critical as the preservation of the original observational data. The Goddard Earth Sciences–Data and Information Service Center (GES DISC), a NASA Earth science Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) that falls under the management structure of the Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS), is actively pursuing the preservation of all necessary artifacts needed by future users.In this article, we will detail the data custodial planning and the data lifecycle process developed for content preservation, and our implementation of a Preservation System to safeguard documents and associated artifacts from legacy (older) missions, as well as detail lessons learned regarding access rights and confidentiality of information issues. We also elaborate on key points that made our preservation effort successful; the primary points being drafting of a governing baseline for historical data preservation from satellite missions and using the historical baseline as a guide to content filtering of what documents to preserve. The Preservation System currently archives documentation content for High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS), Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) mission data, and the 1960s era Nimbus mission. Documentation from other missions like the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and the Atmospheric Infra-Red Sounder (AIRS) are also slated to be added to this repository, as well as other mission datasets to be preserved at the GES DISC.

Global and seasonal variations in three‐dimensional gravity wave momentum flux from satellite limb‐sounding temperatures

AbstractSatellite limb‐sounding methods provide the best global temperature data available for simultaneous measurement of gravity wave horizontal and vertical structures needed to estimate momentum flux and constrain wave effects on general circulation. Gravity waves vary in the three spatial dimensions and time, so the ideal measurement observes all three dimensions at high resolution nearly simultaneously. High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) measurements give near‐simultaneous profiles in close proximity and at high vertical resolution, but these coincident profiles lie only along the plane of the measurement track. Here we combine HIRDLS and radio occultation data sets to obtain three‐dimensional properties of gravity waves on a global scale as well as seasonal variations. The results show dramatic changes from previous estimates using either data set alone. Changes include much larger momentum fluxes and latitudinal variations in propagation direction that support an enhanced role for gravity wave forcing of middle atmosphere circulation.

Global distributions of overlapping gravity waves in HIRDLS data

Abstract. Data from the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) instrument on NASA's Aura satellite are used to investigate the relative numerical variability of observed gravity wave packets as a function of both horizontal and vertical wavenumber, with support from the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on TIMED. We see that these distributions are dominated by large vertical and small horizontal wavenumbers, and have a similar spectral form at all heights and latitudes, albeit with important differences. By dividing our observed wavenumber distribution into particular subspecies of waves, we demonstrate that these distributions exhibit significant temporal and spatial variability, and that small-scale variability associated with particular geophysical phenomena such as the monsoon arises due to variations in specific parts of the observed spectrum. We further show that the well-known Andes/Antarctic Peninsula gravity wave hotspot during southern winter, home to some of the largest wave fluxes on the planet, is made up of relatively few waves, but with a significantly increased flux per wave due to their spectral characteristics. These results have implications for the modelling of gravity wave phenomena.

Driving of the SAO by gravity waves as observed from satellite

Abstract. It is known that atmospheric dynamics in the tropical stratosphere have an influence on higher altitudes and latitudes as well as on surface weather and climate. In the tropics, the dynamics are governed by an interplay of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) and semiannual oscillation (SAO) of the zonal wind. The QBO is dominant in the lower and middle stratosphere, and the SAO in the upper stratosphere/lower mesosphere. For both QBO and SAO the driving by atmospheric waves plays an important role. In particular, the role of gravity waves is still not well understood. In our study we use observations of the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) satellite instrument to derive gravity wave momentum fluxes and gravity wave drag in order to investigate the interaction of gravity waves with the SAO. These observations are compared with the ERA-Interim reanalysis. Usually, QBO westward winds are much stronger than QBO eastward winds. Therefore, mainly gravity waves with westward-directed phase speeds are filtered out through critical-level filtering already below the stratopause region. Accordingly, HIRDLS observations show that gravity waves contribute to the SAO momentum budget mainly during eastward wind shear, and not much during westward wind shear. These findings confirm theoretical expectations and are qualitatively in good agreement with ERA-Interim and other modeling studies. In ERA-Interim most of the westward SAO driving is due to planetary waves, likely of extratropical origin. Still, we find in both observations and ERA-Interim that sometimes westward-propagating gravity waves may contribute to the westward driving of the SAO. Four characteristic cases of atmospheric background conditions are identified. The forcings of the SAO in these cases are discussed in detail, supported by gravity wave spectra observed by HIRDLS. In particular, we find that the gravity wave forcing of the SAO cannot be explained by critical-level filtering alone; gravity wave saturation without critical levels being reached is also important.

A comprehensive observational filter for satellite infrared limb sounding of gravity waves

Abstract. This paper describes a comprehensive observational filter for satellite infrared limb sounding of gravity waves. The filter considers instrument visibility and observation geometry with a high level of accuracy. It contains four main processes: visibility filter, projection of the wavelength on the tangent-point track, aliasing effect, and calculation of the observed vertical wavelength. The observation geometries of the SABER (Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry) and HIRDLS (High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder) are mimicked. Gravity waves (GWs) simulated by coupling a convective GW source (CGWS) scheme and the gravity wave regional or global ray tracer (GROGRAT) are used as an example for applying the observational filter. Simulated spectra in terms of horizontal and vertical wave numbers (wavelengths) of gravity wave momentum flux (GWMF) are analyzed under the influence of the filter. We find that the most important processes, which have significant influence on the spectrum are the visibility filter (for both SABER and HIRDLS observation geometries) and aliasing for SABER and projection on tangent-point track for HIRDLS. The vertical wavelength distribution is mainly affected by the retrieval as part of the "visibility filter" process. In addition, the short-horizontal-scale spectrum may be projected for some cases into a longer horizontal wavelength interval which originally was not populated. The filter largely reduces GWMF values of very short horizontal wavelength waves. The implications for interpreting observed data are discussed.

The global structure of upper troposphere‐lower stratosphere ozone in GEOS‐5: A multiyear assimilation of EOS Aura data

AbstractEight years of ozone measurements retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument and the Microwave Limb Sounder, both on the EOS Aura satellite, have been assimilated into the Goddard Earth Observing System Version 5 (GEOS‐5) data assimilation system. This study evaluates this assimilated product, highlighting its potential for science. The impact of observations on the GEOS‐5 system is explored by examining the spatial distribution of the observation‐minus‐forecast statistics. Independent data are used for product validation. The correlation of the lower stratospheric (the tropopause to 50 hPa) ozone column with ozonesondes is 0.99 and the (high) bias is 0.5%, indicating the success of the assimilation in reproducing the ozone variability in that layer. The upper tropospheric (500 hPa to the tropopause) assimilated ozone column is about 10% lower than the ozonesonde column, but the correlation is still high (0.87). The assimilation is shown to realistically capture the sharp cross‐tropopause gradient in ozone mixing ratio. Occurrence of transport‐driven low ozone laminae in the assimilation system is similar to that obtained from the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) above the 400 K potential temperature surface, but the assimilation produces fewer laminae than seen by HIRDLS below that surface. Although the assimilation produces about 25% fewer occurrences per day during the 3 years of HIRDLS data, the interannual variability is captured correctly. This data‐driven assimilated product is complementary to ozone fields generated from chemistry and transport models. Applications include study of the radiative forcing by ozone and tracer transport near the tropopause.

Climatology and variability of trace gases in extratropical double‐tropopause regions from MLS, HIRDLS, and ACE‐FTS measurements

AbstractUpper tropospheric and lower stratospheric measurements from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), the Aura High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS), and the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment‐Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE‐FTS) are used to present the first global climatological comparison of extratropical, nonpolar trace gas distributions in double‐tropopause (DT) and single‐tropopause (ST) regions. Stratospheric tracers, O3, HNO3, and HCl, have lower mixing ratios ∼2–8 km above the primary (lowermost) tropopause in DT than in ST regions in all seasons, with maximum Northern Hemisphere (NH) differences near 50% in winter and 30% in summer. Southern Hemisphere winter differences are somewhat smaller, but summer differences are similar in the two hemispheres. H2O in DT regions of both hemispheres shows strong negative anomalies in November through February and positive anomalies in July through October, reflecting the strong seasonal cycle in H2O near the tropical tropopause. CO and other tropospheric tracers examined have higher DT than ST values 2–7 km above the primary tropopause, with the largest differences in winter. Large DT‐ST differences extend to high NH latitudes in fall and winter, with longitudinal maxima in regions associated with enhanced wave activity and subtropical jet variations. Results for O3 and HNO3 agree closely between MLS and HIRDLS, and differences from ACE‐FTS are consistent with its sparse and irregular midlatitude sampling. Consistent signatures in climatological trace gas fields provide strong evidence that transport from the tropical upper troposphere into the layer between double tropopauses is an important pathway for stratosphere‐troposphere exchange.

Stratospheric lifetime ratio of CFC-11 and CFC-12 from satellite and model climatologies

Abstract. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) play a key role in stratospheric ozone loss and are strong infrared absorbers that contribute to global warming. The stratospheric lifetimes of CFCs are a measure of their stratospheric loss rates that are needed to determine global warming and ozone depletion potentials. We applied the tracer–tracer correlation approach to zonal mean climatologies from satellite measurements and model data to assess the lifetimes of CFCl3 (CFC-11) and CF2Cl2 (CFC-12). We present estimates of the CFC-11/CFC-12 lifetime ratio and the absolute lifetime of CFC-12, based on a reference lifetime of 52 years for CFC-11. We analyzed climatologies from three satellite missions, the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS), the HIgh Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS), and the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS). We found a CFC-11/CFC-12 lifetime ratio of 0.47±0.08 and a CFC-12 lifetime of 112(96–133) years for ACE-FTS, a ratio of 0.46±0.07 and a lifetime of 113(97–134) years for HIRDLS, and a ratio of 0.46±0.08 and a lifetime of 114(98–136) years for MIPAS. The error-weighted, combined CFC-11/CFC-12 lifetime ratio is 0.46±0.04 and the CFC-12 lifetime estimate is 113(103–124) years. These results agree with the recent Stratosphere-troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) reassessment, which recommends lifetimes of 52(43–67) years and 102(88–122) years, respectively. Having smaller uncertainties than the results from other recent studies, our estimates can help to better constrain CFC-11 and CFC-12 lifetime recommendations in future scientific studies and assessments. Furthermore, the satellite observations were used to validate first simulation results from a new coupled model system, which integrates a Lagrangian chemistry transport model into a climate model. For the coupled model we found a CFC-11/CFC-12 lifetime ratio of 0.48±0.07 and a CFC-12 lifetime of 110(95–129) years, based on a 10-year perpetual run. Closely reproducing the satellite observations, the new model system will likely become a useful tool to assess the impact of advective transport, mixing, and photochemistry as well as climatological variability on the stratospheric lifetimes of long-lived tracers.

Sea surface temperature as a proxy for convective gravity wave excitation: a study based on global gravity wave observations in the middle atmosphere

Abstract. Absolute values of gravity wave momentum flux (GWMF) deduced from satellite measurements by the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument and the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) are correlated with sea surface temperature (SST) with the aim of identifying those oceanic regions for which convection is a major source of gravity waves (GWs). Our study identifies those latitude bands where high correlation coefficients indicate convective excitation with confidence. This is based on a global ray-tracing simulation, which is used to delineate the source and wind-filtering effects. Convective GWs are identified at the eastern coasts of the continents and over the warm water regions formed by the warm ocean currents, in particular the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio. Potential contributions of tropical cyclones to the excitation of the GWs are discussed. Convective excitation can be identified well into the mid-mesosphere. In propagating upward, the centers of GWMF formed by convection shift poleward. Some indications of the main forcing regions are even shown for the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT).

Validation of the Aura High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder geopotential heights

Abstract. The geopotential height (GPH) product created from global observations by the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) instrument on NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura spacecraft is discussed. The accuracy, resolution and precision of the HIRDLS version 7 algorithms are assessed and data screening recommendations are made. Comparisons with GPH from observations, reanalyses and models including European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim Reanalysis (ERA-Interim), and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) Reanalysis illustrate the HIRDLS GPHs have a precision ranging from 2 to 30 m and an accuracy of ±100 m up to 1 hPa. Comparisons indicate HIRDLS GPH may have a slight low bias in the tropics and a slight high bias at high latitudes. Geostrophic winds computed with HIRDLS GPH qualitatively agree with winds from other data sources including ERA-Interim.

Tropospheric nitric acid columns from the IASI satellite instrument interpreted with a chemical transport model: Implications for parameterizations of nitric oxide production by lightning

AbstractThis paper interprets tropical tropospheric nitric acid columns from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) satellite instrument with a global chemical transport model (GEOS‐Chem). GEOS‐Chem and IASI columns generally agree over the tropical ocean to within 10%. However, the GEOS‐Chem simulation underestimates IASI nitric acid over Southeast Asia by a factor of 2. The regional nitric acid bias is confirmed by comparing the GEOS‐Chem simulation with additional satellite (High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder, Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer) and aircraft (Pacific Exploratory Mission (PEM)‐Tropics A and PEM‐West B) observations of the middle and upper troposphere. This bias appears to be driven by the lightning NOx parameterization, both in terms of the magnitude of the NOx source and the ozone production efficiency of concentrated lightning NOx plumes. We tested a subgrid lightning plume parameterization and found that an ozone production efficiency of 15 mol/mol in lightning plumes over Southeast Asia in conjunction with an additional 0.5 Tg N would reduce the regional nitric acid bias from 92% to 6% without perturbing the rest of the tropics. Other sensitivity studies such as modified NOx yield per flash, increased altitude of lightning NOx emissions, decreased convective mass flux, or increased scavenging of nitric acid required unrealistic changes to reduce the bias.

The role of midlatitude mixing barriers in creating the annual variation of total ozone in high northern latitudes

AbstractData from the HIgh Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS), the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), and the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) are used to investigate the annual variation of total column ozone in high northern latitudes. Downward transport of ozone‐rich air by the residual mean circulation during autumn and winter bends ozone isopleths down and increases the high‐latitude ozone amounts, leading to an ozone maximum at the end of the winter. During the summer months eddy mixing acts to restore pre‐fall distributions of ozone. In this study the large‐scale mixing in the lower stratosphere is analyzed using Nakamura's (1996) equivalent length formulation with observed and simulated ozone. The analysis of ozone mixing is performed in the tracer equivalent latitude‐potential temperature coordinate system. Steep latitudinal gradients of ozone isopleths below about 500 K occur during the winter, where there are minima in the equivalent length, indicating barriers to mixing at 30°N–40°N. This transport barrier allows large ozone maxima to develop poleward of it. The barrier disappears over the summer, permitting latitudinal mixing of the high ozone air. Above 500 K mixing is more effective during the winter, so a large winter maximum does not occur. In both midlatitude and high latitude the lower stratospheric layer from 330 to 500 K doubles its ozone content from autumn to spring, compared with much smaller changes in the layer from 500 to 650 K. Our results confirm that the presence of the winter transport barrier in the lower stratosphere controls the seasonal variation of total ozone.

Intercomparison of daytime stratospheric NO<sub>2</sub> satellite retrievals and model simulations

Abstract. This paper evaluates the agreement between stratospheric NO2 retrievals from infrared limb sounders (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) and High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS)) and solar UV/VIS backscatter sensors (Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography (SCIAMACHY) limb and nadir) over the 2005–2007 period and across the seasons. The observational agreement is contrasted with the representation of NO2 profiles in 3-D chemical transport models such as the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) and TM4. A conclusion central to this work is that the definition of a reference for stratospheric NO2 columns formed by consistent agreement among SCIAMACHY, MIPAS and HIRDLS limb records (all of which agree to within 0.25 × 1015 molecules cm−2 or better than 10%) allows us to draw attention to relative errors in other data sets, e.g., (1) WACCM overestimates NO2 densities in the extratropical lower stratosphere, particularly in the springtime and over northern latitudes by up to 35% relative to limb observations, and (2) there are remarkable discrepancies between stratospheric NO2 column estimates from limb and nadir techniques, with a characteristic seasonally and latitudinally dependent pattern. We find that SCIAMACHY nadir and OMI stratospheric columns show overall biases of −0.5 × 1015 molecules cm−2 (−20%) and +0.6 × 1015 molecules cm−2 (+20%) relative to limb observations, respectively. It is argued that additive biases in nadir stratospheric columns are not expected to affect tropospheric retrievals significantly, and that they can be attributed to errors in the total slant column density, related either to algorithmic or instrumental effects. In order to obtain accurate and long-term time series of stratospheric NO2, an effort towards the harmonization of currently used differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) approaches to nadir retrievals becomes essential, as well as their agreement to limb and ground-based observations, particularly now that limb techniques are giving way to nadir observations as the next generation of climate and air quality monitoring instruments pushes forth.