Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Investigation of the mesospheric temperature over Fort Collins region

  • Article
  • Published:
Science China Technological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The nightly mean mesospheric temperature profiles between 80 and 107 km, observed by Na lidar, over Fort Collins, Colorado (41°N, 105°W) from 1990 to 2010, are employed to research the temporal and spatial variations and mesopause. We find that the maximum mean temperature is in summer months above 95 km, but reverse below 95 km, and there is a cooler region below 185 K around 97 km in August. The largest seasonal variation is 39.2 K at 81 km, and the minimum is 6.5 K at 96.5 km. The maximum standard derivation in spring and autumn months are larger than other seasons above 105 km, but the temperatures in March, June and September are lower than the other months between 82 km and 100 km where winter is the largest season. Moreover, the seasonal variations of the temperature are about 36, 8 and 21 K at 85, 95 and 105 km, respectively. winter is colder and summer is warmer above 97.5 km, but reverse below 92 km. The mesopause height is around 102 km in winter, but 84 km in summer, and the mean speed of decreasing or increasing of the mesopause height is about 5 km/month in spring and autumn months which are about 90 km. The lasting time of the mesopause in winter is near 6 months, longer than other seasons, and the mesopause temperature is about 165 K in cool summer, and 185 K in warm winter.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Jarvis M J. Bridging the atmosphere divide. Science, 2001, 293: 2218–2219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Thulasiraman S, Nee J B. Further evidence of a two-level mesopause and its variations from UARS high-resolution Doppler imager temperature data. J Geophys Res, 2002, 107: 4355, doi: 10.1029/2000JD-000118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Huang F T, Mayr H G, Reber C A, et al. Stratospheric and mesospheric temperature variations for the quasi-biennial and semiannual (QBO and SAO) oscillations based on measurements from SABER (TIMED) and MLS (UARS). Ann Geophys, 2006, 24: 2131–2149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Xu J, Smith A K, Yuan W, et al. Global structure and long-term variations of zonal mean temperature observed by TIMED/SABER. J Geophys Res, 2007, 112: D24106, doi: 10.1029/2007JD008546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Xu J, Liu H L, Yuan W, et al. Mesopause structure from Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics, and Dynamics (TIMED)/Sounding of the Atmosphere Using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) observations. J Geophys Res, 2007, 112: D09102, doi: 10.1029/2006JD007711

    Google Scholar 

  6. Chen Z Y, Lü D R. Satellite remote sensing of the characteristics of MLT mean temperatures in the 120°E meridian: the mesopause (in Chinese). Chin J Geophys, 2008, 5l: 982–990

    Google Scholar 

  7. Cao W X, Zhang S D, Yi F, et al. Variation of the mesopause observed by SABER/TIMED satellite (in Chinese). Chin J Geophys, 2012, 55: 2489–2497

    Google Scholar 

  8. She C Y, Yu J R, Chen H. Observed thermal structure of a midlatitude mesopause. Geophys Rse Lett, 1993, 20: 567–570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. She C Y, Thiel S W, Krueger D A. Observed episodic warming at 86 and 100 km between 1990 and 1997: effects of Mount Pinatubo eruption. Geophys Res Lett, 1998, 25: 497–500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. She C Y, Chen S S, Hu Z L, et al. Eight-year climatology of nocturnal temperature and sodium density in the mesopause region (80–105 km) over Fort Collins, CO (41°N, 105°W). G Geophys Res Lett, 2000, 27: 3289–329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. She C Y, Sherman J, Vance J, et al. Evidence of solar cycle effect in the mesopause region: Observed temperatures in 1999 and 2000 at 98. 5 km over Fort Collins, CO (41°N, 105°W). J Atmos Sol-Terr Phys, 2002, 64: 1651–1657

    Google Scholar 

  12. She C Y, Krueger D A. Impact of natural variability in the 11-year mesopause region temperature observation over Fort Collins, CO (41°N, 105°W). A Adv Space Res, 2004, 34: 330–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. She C Y, Krueger D A, Akmaev R, et al. Long-term variability in mesopause region temperatures over Fort Collins, Colorado (41°N, 105°W) based on lidar observations from1990 through 2007. J J Atmos Sol-Terr Phys, 2009, 71: 1558–1564

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. López-Gonzáleza M J, García-Comasa M, Rodríguez E, et al. Ground-based mesospheric temperatures at mid-latitude derived from O2 and OH airglow SATI data: Comparison with SABER measurements. J Atmos Sol-Terr Phys, 2007, 69: 2379–2390

    Google Scholar 

  15. Lübken F J, Müllemann A. First in situ temperature measurements in the summer mesosphere at very high latitudes (78°N). J Geophys Res, 2003, 108: 8448, doi: 10.11029/2002JD002414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Wang S C, Weng L B, Fang H X, et al. Intra-annual variations of the thermospheric density at 400 km altitude from 1996 to 2006. Adv Space Res, 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.asr.2013.12.011

    Google Scholar 

  17. Beig G. Long-term trends in the temperature of the mesosphere/lower thermosphere region: 2. Solar response. J Geophys Res, 2011, 116, A00H12, doi: 10.1029/2011JA016766

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Meteorology and Ocean, PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 211101, China

    Xin Fan, LiBin Weng, HanXian Fang & YanQiong Xie

  2. Sate Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Xin Fan, LiBin Weng & HanXian Fang

  3. Unit 63655 of PLA, Urumqi, 841700, China

    JianBin Zhang

Authors
  1. Xin Fan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. LiBin Weng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. JianBin Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. HanXian Fang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. YanQiong Xie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to LiBin Weng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Fan, X., Weng, L., Zhang, J. et al. Investigation of the mesospheric temperature over Fort Collins region. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 57, 1562–1567 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-014-5593-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-014-5593-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation