Nonmigrating Tidal Components Research Articles

Seasonal and Interannual Variations of Global Tides in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere Neutral Winds: II. Semidiurnal and Terdiurnal Tides

AbstractIn the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region, semidiurnal and terdiurnal tides are dominant at middle and high latitudes and are important for the dynamics and structures. Using the global neutral horizontal wind data in the MLT region observed by TIMED Doppler interferometer from 2002 to 2021, the seasonal and interannual variations of six semidiurnal and terdiurnal tidal components (SW2, SW3, SW4, TW3, TW2 and TW4) are investigated. Particularly, the responses of these tidal components to the stratospheric quasi‐biennial oscillation (SQBO) and the solar cycle are presented. The results indicate that: (a) seasonal and interannual variations of these tidal components are pronounced in their peak regions. The peak region is defined as the region where the ratio of the annual mean amplitude to the maximum annual mean amplitude is larger than 0.8. (b) In their peak regions, migrating tidal components exhibit strong seasonal variations at annual (annual oscillations (AO)), semiannual (semiannual oscillations (SAO)) and terannual (terannual oscillations (TAO)) periods, whereas nonmigrating tidal components only exhibit prominent AO and SAO. (c) In their peak regions, the responses of the annual mean amplitudes of these tidal components to SQBO are negative; the responses of migrating tidal components to solar cycle are negative whereas those of nonmigrating tidal components are positive. (d) For these tidal components, the responses of the amplitudes of seasonal variations to SQBO and solar cycle are weaker than their annual mean amplitudes, and the latitude × altitude response patterns are not always consistent with those of the annual mean amplitudes.

Surface Expressions of Atmospheric Thermal Tides in the Tropical Atlantic and Their Impact on Open‐Ocean Precipitation

AbstractDiurnal and semidiurnal variations of atmospheric pressure and surface winds are fundamental to the Earth‐Sun system. Past research in the tropical Pacific shows semidiurnal and diurnal patterns in the zonal and meridional wind anomalies, respectively. While the semidiurnal zonal wind pattern is consistent with atmospheric thermal tidal forcing, it is not yet certain what drives diurnal meridional wind variability. This study examines the diurnal cycle of meridional winds in the tropical Atlantic Ocean across four different seasons and the extent to which they impact the diurnal evolution of open‐ocean precipitation in boreal summer. Comparisons of direct observations from long‐term moored buoys to an atmospheric reanalysis (MERRA‐2) show that MERRA‐2 reproduces diurnal and semidiurnal pressure and wind variations. The MERRA‐2 atmospheric thermal tides are decomposed into migrating and nonmigrating tidal components, and the linear terms in the zonal and meridional momentum equations are calculated. There is an approximate balance between the acceleration and pressure gradient terms for the zonal migrating momentum budget in the open ocean, with larger residuals or imbalances between those terms for the other budgets. The meridional nonmigrating budget shows largest residuals near the African coastline, indicating that nonlinear processes like the evening initiation of convection are important over land. This evening convection drives the meridional component of surface convergence which is translated offshore by the nonmigrating tide in the form of gravity waves, potentially modified by the African Easterly Jet. During boreal summer, this convergence helps to induce a morning peak of precipitation over the open ocean.

Comparative study between ground-based observations and NAVGEM-HA analysis data in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region

Abstract. Recent studies have shown that day-to-day variability of the migrating semidiurnal solar (SW2) tide within the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) is a key driver of anomalies in the thermosphere–ionosphere system. Here, we study the variability in both the amplitude and phase of SW2 using meteor radar wind and lidar temperature observations at altitudes of 75–110 km as well as wind and temperature output from the Navy Global Environmental Model – High Altitude (NAVGEM-HA), a high-altitude meteorological analysis system. Application of a new adaptive spectral filter technique to both local radar wind observations and global NAVGEM-HA analyses offers an important cross-validation of both data sets and makes it possible to distinguish between migrating and non-migrating tidal components, which is difficult using local measurements alone. Comparisons of NAVGEM-HA, meteor radar and lidar observations over a 12-month period show that the meteorological analyses consistently reproduce the seasonal as well as day-to-day variability in mean winds, mean temperatures and SW2 features from the ground-based observations. This study also examines in detail the day-to-day variability in SW2 during two sudden stratospheric warming, events that have been implicated in producing ionospheric anomalies. During this period, both meteor radar and NAVGEM-HA winds show a significant phase shift and amplitude modulation, but no signs of coupling to the lunar tide as previous studies have suggested. Overall, these findings demonstrate the benefit of combining global high-altitude meteorological analyses with ground-based observations of the MLT region to better understand the tidal variability in the atmosphere.

Upper thermospheric responses to forcing from above and below during 1–10 April 2010: Results from an ensemble of numerical simulations

AbstractIn this report we examine the spatial and temporal variability of the quiescent thermosphere leading up to and after the 5 April 2010 geomagnetic disturbance. We attribute the dominant driver of this variability to a combination of tides generated in situ and in the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere. We identify nonmigrating tidal signatures attributable to the latter source that are ubiquitous, persistent, and significant at all thermospheric latitudes. Further, these perturbations underlie the upper atmospheric response to solar geomagnetic disturbances and are measurably altered, along with their migrating counterparts, during the storm. Our investigation is centered on a series of National Center for Atmospheric Research thermosphere‐ionosphere‐mesosphere‐electrodynamics general circulation model simulations during 1–10 April 2010, including an optimal simulation with lower boundary forcing based on Modern‐Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Application reanalysis data and upper boundary forcing based on satellite and ground magnetometer measurements and the Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics procedure and three diagnostic simulations. The differences between the optimal and diagnostic simulations allow us to quantify thermospheric variability attributable to solar geomagnetic forcing and dynamical effects propagating into the thermosphere from below. We find that they can be comparable at high latitudes for some nonmigrating tidal components.

Sources of low‐latitude ionospheric E × B drifts and their variability

The complete mechanism of how upward propagating tropospheric tides connect to the upper atmosphere is not yet fully understood. One proposed mechanism is via ionospheric wind dynamo. However, other sources can potentially alter the vertical E × B drift: gravity and plasma pressure gradient driven current, the geomagnetic main field, and longitudinal variation in the conductivities. In this study we examine the contribution to the vertical drift from these sources, and compare them. We use March equinox results from the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model. We found that the gravity and plasma pressure gradient driven current and the longitudinal variation of the conductivities excluding the variation due to the geomagnetic main field do not change the longitudinal variation of the vertical drift significantly. Modifying the geomagnetic main field will change the vertical drift at 5–6 LT, 18–19 LT and 23–24 LT at almost all longitudes. In general the influence of the geomagnetic main field on the vertical drift is larger, with respect to the maximum difference, at 18–19 LT and 23–24 LT, equal at 5–6 LT, and smaller at 14–15 LT than the influence due to nonmigrating tidal components in the neutral winds. Examination of the contribution from E‐ and F‐region neutral winds to the vertical drift shows that their importance depends on the local time and the solar activity. This implies that the vertical drift has to be analyzed at specific local times to examine the relation between the wave number in the vertical drift and in the neutral winds.

Intensive radiosonde observations of the diurnal tide and planetary waves in the lower atmosphere over Yichang (111°18' E, 30°42' N), China

Abstract. The characteristics of diurnal tide and planetary waves (PWs) in the troposphere and lower stratosphere (TLS) over Yichang (111°18' E, 30°42' N) were studied by using the data from intensive radiosonde observations in August 2006 (summer month) and January 2007 (winter month) on an eight-times-daily basis. The radiosonde observations of the diurnal tide and PWs in the TLS in the mid-latitudes have seldom been reported. We find that there exists dominant diurnal oscillations in the TLS over Yichang. The observed diurnal tide consists of significant nonmigrating components, which may be owning to the local latent heat release. Since the nonmigrating tides are usually composed of high order modes with smaller vertical wavelengths, which are prone to dissipation in comparison with the low order modes, the observational tidal amplitudes decrease sharply at several heights. Some evident discrepancies between the observations and the GSWM-02 are found, which may result mainly from the inaccurate prediction of the nonmigrating tidal components by the GSWM-02. And, due to the evident seasonal differences of the water vapor mixing ratio disturbance and the tropospheric jet induced turbulence in winter, the diurnal tides in the summer and winter months have some different characteristics. Besides the diurnal tide, obvious quasi 7-day PW (QSDPW) and quasi 10-day PW (QTDPW) are also recognized from our observations in both the summer and winter months. The QSDPWs in the troposphere in both the summer and winter months show a standing wave structure, while the QTDPWs generally exhibit traveling wave characteristics. Spectral analyses reveal that some waves with periods around that of the diurnal tide are generated due to the interactions of the diurnal tide and PWs and the tidal amplitudes are modulated by the PWs, indicating the extensive coupling between the diurnal tide and PWs. Moreover, our observations manifest that the PWs can exert great impacts on the tropospheric jet in winter and the tropopause in both the summer and winter months.

Mechanisms controlling the diurnal solar tide: Analysis using a GCM and a linear model

A general circulation model (GCM, HAMMONIA) and a linear model are used for analyzing the dynamics of the total diurnal solar tide in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, comprising both the migrating and all nonmigrating components. A comparison between this tide in the GCM and in published observations is relatively favorable. The linear model uses monthly means from the GCM as background atmosphere and the diurnal heating rates from that model as forcing. The background atmosphere may be longitude‐dependent so that stationary planetary waves can be included. A straightforward analysis of corresponding effects is thus facilitated. To a large degree the seasonal variability of the diurnal tide is due to variations in the background atmosphere. In addition to corresponding previous results on the impact of the zonal mean atmosphere on the migrating tide, the thermospheric tide is shown to be strongly influenced by the variability of the absorption of solar radiation by O2. With regard to the nonmigrating tidal components, also, their most important forcing mechanisms are tropospheric as for the migrating tide below the thermosphere and their seasonal cycle is mostly controlled by variations of the background atmosphere. In the dynamics of these components, however, the planetary waves take an active role. They can cause reductions in the tidal amplitude by destructive interference with the directly forced nonmigrating tide, as for DS0 in February. The opposite effect of enhancing the tidal amplitude is also observed for DW2 in the same season. The component DE3 is controlled by an interplay between the variability of the zonal mean background and diurnal heating. The correct simulation of a meridional wind amplitude minimum in this tide during NH summer May–August seems to depend critically on the phase relation between the two.

Tidal variability in the ionospheric dynamo region

The seasonal and interannual variability of migrating (Sun‐synchronous) and nonmigrating solar atmospheric tides at altitudes between 100 and 116 km are investigated using temperature measurements made with the SABER instrument on the TIMED spacecraft during 2002–2006. Quasi‐biennial variations of order ±10–15% in migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tidal amplitudes are found, presumably due to modulation by the quasi‐biennial oscillation (QBO) as the tides propagate from their troposphere and stratospheric sources to the lower thermosphere. A number of nonmigrating tidal components are found that have the potential to produce significant longitudinal variability of the total tidal fields. The most prominent of these, i.e., those that appear at amplitudes of order 5–10 K in a 5‐year mean climatology, include the zonally symmetric (s = 0) diurnal tide (D0); the eastward propagating diurnal and semidiurnal tides with zonal wave numbers s = −2 (DE2 and SE2) and s = −3 (DE3 and SE3); and the following westward propagating waves: diurnal s = 2 (DW2); semidiurnal s = 1 (SW1), s = 3 (SW3), and s = 4 (SW4); and terdiurnal s = 5 (TW5). These waves can be plausibly accounted for by nonlinear interaction between migrating tidal components and stationary planetary waves with s = 1 or s = 2 or by longitudinal variations of tropospheric thermal forcing. Additional waves that occur during some years or undergo phase cancellation within construction of a 5‐year climatology include DW5, SE1, SE4, SW6, TE1, TW1, and TW7. It is anticipated that the winds that accompany all of these waves in the 100–170 km region will impose longitudinal variability in the electric fields produced through the ionospheric dynamo mechanism, thereby modulating vertical motion of the equatorial ionosphere and the concomitant plasma densities. In addition to the wave‐4 modulation of the equatorial ionosphere that has recently been discovered and replicated in modeling studies, the waves revealed here will generate wave‐1 (SW1, SW3, D0, DW2), wave‐2 (SW4, TW1), wave‐3 (DE2, SE1), wave‐4 (DE3, SE2, DW5, SW6, TE1, TW7), wave‐5 (SE3), and wave‐6 (SE4) components of this ionospheric variability, depending on year and time of year. However, the absolute and relative efficiencies with which these waves produce electric fields remains to be determined.

Structure of the migrating diurnal tide in the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM)

As part of an ongoing effort to understand the migrating diurnal tide generated by the NCAR Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model, version 3 (WACCM3), we compare the WACCM3 migrating diurnal tide in the horizontal wind and temperature fields to similar results from the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM). The WACCM3 diurnal tidal wind fields are also compared to tropical radar measurements at Kauai (22°N, 200.2°E) and Rarotonga (21.3°S, 199.7°E). The large-scale features of the WACCM3 results, such as the global spatial structure and the semiannual amplitude variation are in general agreement with past tidal studies; however, several differences do exist. WACCM3 exhibits a much higher degree of hemispheric asymmetry, lower overall amplitudes around the equinoxes, and peaks which are more confined in latitude when compared with the GSWM. Factors which may contribute to such differences between WACCM3 and GSWM are the solar heating profiles from ozone and water vapor, dissipation, and the zonal mean zonal winds. We find that the internally generated heating in WACCM3 and eddy dissipation values are both smaller than the values specified in the GSWM; the eddy dissipation fields and zonal mean zonal winds of the two models also display measurable differences in spatial structure. Comparisons with radar data show several differences in spatial and seasonal structure. In particular, the diurnal tide zonal winds in WACCM3 above Kauai are considerably larger in amplitude than those observed in the radar data, due to contributions from nonmigrating tidal components including wave numbers eastward 1 through 3, westward 2, and stationary components, which interfere constructively with the migrating component around equinox in WACCM3.

Monthly tidal temperatures 20–120 km from TIMED/SABER

The SABER instrument on the TIMED satellite provides unprecedented geographical coverage for the determination and study of atmospheric tides. However, the slow local time precession rate of TIMED can cause longer‐term temperature variations to alias into the tidal signals. A new method of analyzing satellite data for tides has been developed to circumvent this difficulty, but at the expense of temporal resolution of the tidal fields, i.e., 120‐day mean tidal structures are obtained. In this work, we apply this method to SABER temperature data to derive a series of 120‐day mean tidal structures, extending between 20 and 120 km altitude, 50°S–50°N latitude, and centered on each month from September 2003 to September 2004. In addition to the migrating (Sun‐synchronous) diurnal and semidiurnal tides, a number of nonmigrating tides are revealed in the SABER measurements. Some of these waves are thought to originate via nonlinear coupling between the migrating tides and the stationary planetary wave with zonal wave number s = 1. Other nonmigrating tidal components appear to be forced by latent heating due to deep tropical convection. Of the latter, the eastward propagating diurnal tide with s = 3 is dominant and is as large as the migrating diurnal tide during some months. Of particular interest is the wave‐4 structure with respect to longitude that characterizes both the diurnal and semidiurnal total tidal fields. This feature is a result of the predominant wave‐4 topography/land‐sea longitude dependence at the surface, which is reflected in the diurnal and semidiurnal components of the latent heating rates due to deep tropical convection. The ability of the global‐scale wave model (GSWM) to approximate the observed tidal fields, including the wave‐4 total tidal structures, is also assessed.

Seasonal variations of the semi-diurnal and diurnal tides in the MLT: multi-year MF radar observations from 2 to 70°N, and the GSWM tidal model

Continuous observations of the wind field have been made by six Medium Frequency Radars (MFRs), located between the equator and high northern latitudes: Christmas Islands (2°N), Hawaii (22°N), Urbana (40°N), London (43°N), Saskatoon (52°N) and Tromsø (70°N). Data have been sought for the time interval 1990–1997, and typically 5 years of data have become available from each station, to demonstrate the level of annual consistency and variability. Common harmonic analysis is applied so that the monthly amplitudes and phases of the semi-diurnal (SD) and diurnal (D) wind oscillations are available in the height range of (typically) 75–95 km in the upper Middle Atmosphere. Comparisons are made with tides from the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM), which are available for 3-month seasons. The emphasis is upon the monthly climatologies at each location based upon comparisons of profiles, and also latitudinal plots of amplitudes and phases at particular heights. For the diurnal tide, the agreement between observations and model is now quite excellent with modelled values frequently lying within the range of yearly values. Both observations and model demonstrate strong seasonal changes. This result is a striking improvement over the comparisons of 1989 (JATP, Special issue). In particular, the phases and phase-gradients for the non-winter months at mid- to high-latitudes are now in excellent agreement. Some of the low latitude discrepancies are attributed to the existence of non-migrating tidal components associated with tropospheric latent heat release. For the semi-diurnal tide, the observed strong transitions between clear solstitial states are less well captured by the model. There is little evidence for improvement over the promising comparisons of 1989. In particular, the late-summer/autumnal tidal maximum of mid-latitudes is observed to be larger, and with strong monthly variability. Also the summer modelled tide has unobserved short (20 km) wavelengths at high latitudes, and much smaller amplitudes than observed at all extratropical locations. Possible improvements for the GSWM’s simulations of the SD tide are discussed, which involve migrating tidal modes due to tropospheric latent heating.

Middle atmosphere tides

Recent progress in the study of middle atmosphere tides is reviewed. Specific areas where recent progress has occurred include: development of more realistic thermal excitation and numerical simulation models; the role of tides in accelerating and heating the mean flow at the base of the thermosphere; observational efforts which delineate average seasonal, latitudinal and vertical structures of tides, and shorterterm variations of tides about these values; theoretical and observational studies concerning the importance of non-migrating tidal components; the effects of tides on minor constituent concentrations in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The review concludes with a summary of key problems to be addressed in the future.