Sensitivity of the 4–10-Day Planetary Wave Structures in the Middle Atmosphere to the Solar Activity Effects in the Thermosphere

Numerical simulation of the general atmospheric circulation was performed to estimate changes in amplitudes of the westward-travelling planetary waves (PWs) at altitudes from the Earth’s surface up to 300 km under different solar activity (SA) levels. The three-dimensional nonlinear mechanistic mode...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAtmosphere Vol. 13; no. 8; p. 1325
Main Authors Koval, Andrey V., Gavrilov, Nikolai M., Didenko, Ksenia A., Ermakova, Tatiana S., Savenkova, Elena N.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2022
Subjects
Altitude
Amplitudes
Atmosphere
Atmospheric circulation
atmospheric dynamics
Earth surface
Environmental aspects
General circulation
Influence
Ionosondes
Ionosphere
Lower atmosphere
Lower thermosphere
Mathematical models
Middle atmosphere
MUAM
numerical modeling
Numerical simulations
Planetary waves
Radiation
Refractive index
Refractivity
Rossby waves
Solar activity
Solar activity effects
Thermosphere
Three dimensional models
Upper atmosphere
Wave energy
Wave power
Russia
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Summary:Numerical simulation of the general atmospheric circulation was performed to estimate changes in amplitudes of the westward-travelling planetary waves (PWs) at altitudes from the Earth’s surface up to 300 km under different solar activity (SA) levels. The three-dimensional nonlinear mechanistic model of circulation of the middle and upper atmosphere “MUAM” was used. The atmospheric general circulation and PW amplitudes were calculated based on ensembles containing 16 model runs for conditions corresponding to low and high SA. PWs having periods of 4–10 days were considered. Comparison with the data of digital ionosondes showed that the MUAM model is capable of reproducing the considered PW modes at thermospheric heights. It is shown that under high SA conditions, PW amplitudes are significantly larger in the thermosphere and smaller in the middle atmosphere. The observed PW structures are influenced not only by changes in atmospheric refractive index and Eliassen–Palm flux but also by varying PW reflection in the lower thermosphere, which can change proportions of the wave energy transferred from the lower atmosphere to the upper layers and reflected downwards.
ISSN:2073-4433
2073-4433
DOI:10.3390/atmos13081325