Persistent gravity wave coupling from the stratosphere to the MLT versus secondary wave generation in Antarctica

After Antarctic persistent gravity waves (GWs) in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT) were discovered from lidar observations [Chen et al., 2013, 2016], secondary wave generation theory was proposed to explain the source. Here we perform a source investigation of such persistent GWs through analyzing both stratospheric and MLT GWs at McMurdo using temperature measurements (30 - 50 km, year 2011 - 2015) obtained by Fe Boltzmann lidar. In the stratosphere, GW vertical wavelengths (λ) and periods exhibit seasonal cycles with winter maxima and summer minima, which linearly correlated with mean zonal wind velocities. GWs dissipate more in winter than in summer due to larger wave amplitudes. The potential energy density (Ep) are anti-correlated with wind rotation angles but positively correlated with surface and stratospheric winds. Critical level filtering, in-situ generation of GWs, and wave saturation changes play roles in Ep seasonal variations (winter maxima and summer minima). The large increase of Ep from summer to winter possibly results from the decrease in critical level filtering. The gradual variations of Ep from Mar to Oct are likely related both to the increased λ towards winter, allowing larger wave amplitudes before saturation, and to in-situ GW generation via geostrophic adjustment, secondary GW generation. Large Ep occur when McMurdo is inside the jet stream core 5-24º poleward from vortex edge. In winter MLT, the persistent GWs cause larger temperature perturbations (± 30 K, compared to ± 10 K in the stratosphere) with longer λ (23.5 km) and larger vertical phase speeds (1.8 m/s). More waves (95.4%) show downward phase progression compared to the stratospheric GWs (70.4%). Since the inferred horizontal wavelength of stratospheric GWs (350 - 450 km) are much shorter than those of the persistent GWs in the MLT (1000 - 2000 km), the dominant stratospheric GWs are not the direct source of the MLT persistent GWs. Secondary wave generation possibly provides the source for the persistent GWs. Primary GWs (such as dominant stratospheric GWs) generated from the lower atmosphere break at 50 km, create body forces, and generate secondary GWs, providing the persistent GWs we observed in the MLT. The theoretically predicted "Fish-bone" patterns are presented from our lidar measurements.