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Experimental Constraints on Gravity Wave Parameterization from in Situ Measurements of Temperature and Turbulence

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Gravity Wave Processes

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASII,volume 50))

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Abstract

The thermal structure in the high latitude mesosphere and thermosphere has presumably created the strongest stimulation for a realistic parameterization of gravity wave breaking in models. The meridional temperature reversal and the very cold mesopause temperatures in summer of ~130 K have put a serious constraint on any theoretical description of the physical processes acting in the upper atmosphere. In this paper mesospheric temperature measurements at high latitudes are summarized. The thermal structure in summer exhibits a remarkable and persistent seasonal and interannual repeatability with a rather abrupt change from summer to winter conditions in mid August. At typical noctilucent cloud altitudes (82 km) the mean temperature is again and again observed to be in the range 150 ± 2 Kelvin (“equithermal submesopause”). The second part of this paper deals with insitu measurements of turbulent energy dissipation rates. Turbulent heating is strongest around the mesopause region in summer (10 to 20 K/d). During winter, the heating rates are considerably smaller and turbulence is distributed over a wider altitude range. It is shown that intense radar echoes observed in the mesopause region during summer (“polar mesosphere summer echoes”) are not necessarily caused by strong neutral air turbulence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Bonn University, Nussallee 12, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Franz-Josef Lübken

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  1. Franz-Josef Lübken
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, 08542, NJ, USA

    Kevin Hamilton

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lübken, FJ. (1997). Experimental Constraints on Gravity Wave Parameterization from in Situ Measurements of Temperature and Turbulence. In: Hamilton, K. (eds) Gravity Wave Processes. NATO ASI Series, vol 50. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60654-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60654-0_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-64495-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-60654-0

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