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Atmosphere
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Observations and Analysis of Upper Atmosphere
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Observations and Analysis of Upper Atmosphere

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Upper Atmosphere".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 6405

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shican Qiu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geophysics, College of the Geology Engineering and Geomatics, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China
Interests: sporadic sodium layer (NaS); sporadic E layer (ES); polar mesospheric cloud (PMC); lidar/radar observations; global circuit; space weather
Prof. Dr. Guozhu Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
Interests: ionosphere; meteors; radar
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue belongs to the section Upper Atmosphere. The upper atmosphere is the conjunction of matter and energy exchange between the lower atmosphere and outer space. It is affected by disturbance from interstellar space and the influence from the lower atmosphere, with a variety of possible coupling processes. For example, solar flares, coronal mass ejection (CME), energetic particle precipitation (EPP), and galactic cosmic ray (GCR) may cause significant disturbances to the middle and upper atmosphere. In addition, various disturbances in the surface and lower atmosphere, such as lightning, volcanoes, earthquakes, and typhoons, etc., may also have an impact on the upper atmosphere. Therefore, it is a great challenge to investigate the coupled multi-layer processes through the use of combined ground-based and air-based observations.

Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Mesospheric layering phenomena;
  • Stratospheric sudden warming (SSW);
  • Gravity waves in the middle and upper atmosphere;
  • Lidar/radar observations;
  • Interaction between ionosphere and upper atmosphere;
  • Coupling between the lower and upper atmosphere;
  • The solar modulations in the middle and upper atmosphere.

Dr. Shican Qiu
Prof. Dr. Guozhu Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • radar
  • lidar
  • SSW
  • GW
  • upper atmosphere

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 7416 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Relationship between Upper-Level Aircraft Turbulence and the East Asian Westerly Jet Stream
by Kenan Li, Xi Chen, Liman A, Kaijun Wu, Haiwen Liu, Fengjing Dai, Tiantian Yang, Jia Yu and Kehua Wang
Atmosphere 2024, 15(9), 1138; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15091138 - 20 Sep 2024
Viewed by 388
Abstract
The jet stream is a primary factor contributing to turbulence, especially for upper-level aircraft. This study utilized pilot reports and ERA5 data from 2023 to investigate the relationship between upper-level turbulence and the East Asian westerly jet (EAJ). The results indicate that approximately [...] Read more.
The jet stream is a primary factor contributing to turbulence, especially for upper-level aircraft. This study utilized pilot reports and ERA5 data from 2023 to investigate the relationship between upper-level turbulence and the East Asian westerly jet (EAJ). The results indicate that approximately 45.9% of upper-level aircraft turbulence occurs within the jet stream, with the lowest proportion in August and the highest in January. Additionally, the strongest vertical wind shear (VMS) is found concentrated in the lower part of the jet stream core, particularly in the South–Down part of the jet stream, where upper-level aircraft turbulence occurs most frequently (27.1%). The most turbulent area is located between 30–40° N and 110–120° E, with the main air routes experiencing turbulence being the Henan sections of G212 and B208. From a seasonal perspective, there is less frequent occurrence of upper-level aircraft turbulence in summer and autumn but more in winter and spring. The EAJ volume increases with the strengthening of the jet core wind speed, with the jet core regions being most distinct at altitudes of 200~300 hPa. Meanwhile, the jet stream intensity index peaks at 70.6 m/s in January and reaches its lowest value of 7.1 m/s in August. The jet stream axis shifts southward in winter and northward in summer, reaching the southernmost position in December at 32.2° N and the northernmost position in August at 43.5° N. Furthermore, the VMS at turbulence points within the jet stream is higher than that at the turbulence points outside the jet stream, and the Richardson number (RI) is lower. Moreover, the temporal distribution of upper-level aircraft turbulence is primarily determined by the location and intensity of the jet stream, of which the jet stream intensity index provides guidance and thus serves as a reliable indicator. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observations and Analysis of Upper Atmosphere)
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14 pages, 11121 KiB  
Article
Influence of Sudden Stratospheric Warmings on the Migrating Diurnal Tide in the Equatorial Middle Atmosphere Observed by Aura/Microwave Limb Sounder
by Klemens Hocke
Atmosphere 2023, 14(12), 1743; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14121743 - 27 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1142
Abstract
The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) onboard the satellite Aura measures the temperature at 01:44 LST (after midnight) and at 13:44 LST after noon in the equatorial middle atmosphere. The signatures of the migrating solar diurnal tide (DW1) show up in the difference between [...] Read more.
The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) onboard the satellite Aura measures the temperature at 01:44 LST (after midnight) and at 13:44 LST after noon in the equatorial middle atmosphere. The signatures of the migrating solar diurnal tide (DW1) show up in the difference between the night-time and the daytime temperature profiles. We find a good agreement between the equatorial DW1 proxy of the Aura/MLS observations and the migrating diurnal tide estimated by the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM) in March. The equatorial DW1 proxy is shown for the time interval from 2004 to 2021 reaching a temporal resolution of 1 day. The amplitude modulations of the DW1 proxy are correlated at several altitudes. There are indications of a semi-annual and annual oscillation (SAO and AO) of the DW1 proxy. The composite of 17 events of major sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) shows that the equatorial, mesospheric DW1 proxy is reduced by about 10% during the first week after the SSW event. The nodes and bellies of the equatorial DW1 proxy are shifted downward by about 1–2 km in the first week after the SSW. The 14 day-oscillation of the DW1 proxy in the equatorial mesosphere is enhanced from 25 days before the SSW onset to 5 days after the SSW onset. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observations and Analysis of Upper Atmosphere)
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13 pages, 10825 KiB  
Article
Frequency Dependence of the Correlation between Ozone and Temperature Oscillations in the Middle Atmosphere
by Klemens Hocke and Eric Sauvageat
Atmosphere 2023, 14(9), 1436; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14091436 - 14 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1054
Abstract
This study investigates the frequency dependence of the correlation or anticorrelation of ozone and temperature in the middle atmosphere. The anticorrelation of ozone and temperature plays a role for a possible super recovery of upper stratospheric ozone in the presence of man-made cooling [...] Read more.
This study investigates the frequency dependence of the correlation or anticorrelation of ozone and temperature in the middle atmosphere. The anticorrelation of ozone and temperature plays a role for a possible super recovery of upper stratospheric ozone in the presence of man-made cooling of the middle atmosphere due to increasing carbon dioxide emissions. The correlation between lower stratospheric ozone and temperature indicates the dependence of lower stratospheric temperature trends on the ozone evolution in addition to greenhouse gas emissions. Ozone and temperature measurements of the microwave limb sounder (MLS) on the satellite Aura from 2004 to 2021 are utilized for Bern (46.95° N, 7.44° E) at middle latitudes and for the equator region. The time series are bandpass filtered for periods from 2 days to 5 years. The correlation coefficient depends on the period of the oscillation in temperature and ozone. The strongest correlation and anticorrelation are found for the annual oscillation. The anticorrelation between ozone and temperature in the upper stratosphere is about −0.7 at a period of two days and −0.99 at a period of one year. Thus, the temperature dependence of the ozone reaction rates also leads to an anticorrelation of ozone and temperature at short periods so that ozone can be considered as a tracer of planetary waves. At the equator, a dominant semiannual oscillation and an 11 year solar cycle are found for nighttime ozone in the upper mesosphere. The semiannual oscillation (SAO) in ozone and temperature shows a strong correlation indicating a dynamical control of the ozone SAO in the upper mesosphere. The SAO in the equatorial nighttime values of ozone and temperature is possibly due to a semiannual modulation of vertical advection by the diurnal tide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observations and Analysis of Upper Atmosphere)
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8 pages, 4809 KiB  
Communication
Thermospheric Density Response to the QBO Signal
by Bo Li, Ruifei Cui and Libin Weng
Atmosphere 2023, 14(8), 1317; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14081317 - 21 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 996
Abstract
In this study, we focused on the periodic variations of global average thermospheric density, derived from orbital decay measurements of about 5000 space objects from 1967 to 2013, by using the wavelet power spectrum method. The results demonstrated that the thermospheric density showed [...] Read more.
In this study, we focused on the periodic variations of global average thermospheric density, derived from orbital decay measurements of about 5000 space objects from 1967 to 2013, by using the wavelet power spectrum method. The results demonstrated that the thermospheric density showed an ~11-year period, with semiannual and annual variations, while the seasonal variation was usually more significant under high solar activity conditions. Importantly, we investigated the possible link between the thermospheric density and the QBO, with the aid of the Global Average Mass Density Model (GAMDM) and the different density residuals method. The difference between the measured density and the GAMDM empirical model seemingly had QBO signal, but the ratio of them revealed that the QBO signal could not detect in the thermospheric density. Comprehensively, we found that the stratospheric QBO cannot impact on the thermosphere, and more data and numerical modeling are needed for further validation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observations and Analysis of Upper Atmosphere)
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Review

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33 pages, 9246 KiB  
Review
Meteor Radar for Investigation of the MLT Region: A Review
by Iain M. Reid
Atmosphere 2024, 15(4), 505; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15040505 - 20 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1829
Abstract
This is an introductory review of modern meteor radar and its application to the measurement of the dynamical parameters of the Mesosphere Lower Thermosphere (MLT) Region within the altitude range of around 70 to 110 km, which is where most meteors are detected. [...] Read more.
This is an introductory review of modern meteor radar and its application to the measurement of the dynamical parameters of the Mesosphere Lower Thermosphere (MLT) Region within the altitude range of around 70 to 110 km, which is where most meteors are detected. We take a historical approach, following the development of meteor radar for studies of the MLT from the time of their development after the Second World War until the present. The application of the meteor radar technique is closely aligned with their ability to make contributions to Meteor Astronomy in that they can determine meteor radiants, and measure meteoroid velocities and orbits, and so these aspects are noted when required. Meteor radar capabilities now extend to measurements of temperature and density in the MLT region and show potential to be extended to ionospheric studies. New meteor radar networks are commencing operation, and this heralds a new area of investigation as the horizontal spatial variation of the upper-atmosphere wind over an extended area is becoming available for the first time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observations and Analysis of Upper Atmosphere)
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