A link between variability of the semidiurnal tide and planetary waves in the opposite hemisphere

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 34; no. 7; pp. L07809 - n/a
• Main Authors: Smith, Anne K., Pancheva, Dora V., Mitchell, Nicholas J., Marsh, Daniel R., Russell III, James M., Mlynczak, Martin G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Geophysical Union 01.04.2007; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Atmospheric Processes; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Marine; mesosphere; Mesospheric dynamics; Middle atmosphere dynamics; tides; Tides and planetary waves; mesosphere; tides; satellites; Southern Hemisphere; time variations; Zonal wind; latitude; Time series; Summer; global; Semidiurnal tide; amplitude; instruments; correlation; Northern Hemisphere; meteors; temperature; Planetary wave; radar methods; stratosphere
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2006GL028929

Horizontal wind observations over four years from the meteor radar at Esrange (68°N, 21°E) are analyzed to determine the variability of the semidiurnal tide. Simultaneous global observations of temperature and geopotential from the SABER satellite instrument are used to construct time series of planetary wave amplitudes and geostrophic mean zonal wind. During Northern Hemisphere summer and fall, the temporal variability of the semidiurnal tide at Esrange is found to be well correlated with the amplitude of planetary wavenumber 1 in the stratosphere in high southern latitudes (i.e. in the opposite hemisphere). The correlations indicate that a significant part of the tidal variation at Esrange is due to dynamical interactions in the Southern Hemisphere. A corresponding robust correlation pattern for the Esrange tides is not apparent at other times of the multiple years analyzed.