Mesospheric temperature and metal densities during the major stratospheric warming in 2009
Abstract
Sudden stratospheric warmings are usually accompanied by a strong cooling in the mesosphere. As this happens within the time frame of a few days, the cooling represents an excellent case to study the influence of the temperature on metal layers in absence of seasonal variations of the metal sources. The major stratospheric warming in January 2009 was the strongest and most prolonged on record. Impacts on the mesosphere include a cooling in excess of 50 K at 87 km altitude in conjunction with a dramatic reduction in atomic metal abundances. We will report on measurements taken with three different lidar systems (ALOMAR Na-Lidar, mobile Fe-Lidar, ALOMAR RMR-Lidar) which were colocated at the ALOMAR observatory in Northern Norway (69° N) at that time. As the instruments were operated simultaneously most of the time, the combination of all three data sets offers a unique and so far unsurpassed view on the thermal structure within the MLT region during a major warming.
- Publication:
-
38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010cosp...38.1226K