The Role of Vertically and Obliquely Propagating Gravity Waves in Influencing the Polar Summer Mesosphere

Abstract

Using an 8-year (2007-2014) data set from two different limb-viewing instruments, we evaluate the relative roles of vertically versus obliquely propagating gravity waves (GWs) as sources of GWs in the polar summer mesosphere. Obliquely propagating waves are of interest because they are presumed to be generated by the summer monsoons. In the high-latitude upper mesosphere, the correlation coefficient between the time series of ice water content (IWC) and GW amplitude is 0.48, indicating that the observed GWs enhance polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs). For vertically propagating waves, the correlation coefficient between IWC and stratospheric/lower mesospheric (20-70 km) GW amplitude at the same high latitudes becomes more negative with increasing altitude. This change in correlation from negative in the lower mesosphere to positive at PMC altitudes suggests the presence of another source of GWs. The positive correlation coefficient between the time series of IWC and GW amplitude from 0-50 degrees N, 20-90 km shows a slanted structure suggesting oblique propagation. This slanted structure is more robust in some seasons compared to others, and this interannual variability may be due to the latitudinal gradient of the mesospheric easterly jet where steeper gradients allow for low-latitude tropospheric GWs to be refracted to the high-latitude mesosphere more efficiently. Gravity-Wave Regional or Global Ray Tracer (GROGRAT) ray tracing simulations show that more GWs propagate obliquely compared to vertically propagating waves that reach PMC altitudes. For obliquely propagating waves, GROGRAT simulations indicate that nonorographic tropospheric GWs with faster phase speed (>20 m/s) and longer horizontal wavelength (>400 km) have a higher probability of reaching the polar summer mesosphere.