Observations of in-situ generated gravity waves during a stratospheric temperature enhancement (STE) event

• Published in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
• Main Authors: A. J. Gerrard, Y. Bhattacharya, J. P. Thayer
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2011
• Subjects: Physics; QC1-999; Chemistry; QD1-999; Greenland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-11913-2011; https://doaj.org/article/e2972b8f707648908b26f1a24112008c

Evidence for in situ generated atmospheric gravity waves associated with a stratospheric temperature enhancement (STE) are presented. The signatures of two sets of gravity waves are observed by molecular-aerosol lidar in conjunction with the early December 2000 STE event above Sondrestrom, Greenland. The first set of gravity waves shows downward phase progression with a vertical wavelength of ~8 km while the second set shows upward phase progression with a vertical wavelength of ~9 km. With estimates of the background wind fields from synoptic analyses, the various intrinsic gravity wave parameters of these two wave structures are found. The observed wave features compare well to previous numerical modeling predictions.