EGU21-296
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-296
EGU General Assembly 2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Burst of Unusual Quasi-10 day Wave During the 2019 Southern Sudden Stratospheric Warming

Jack Wang1,2, Scott Palo1, Jeffrey Forbes1, John Marino1, and Tracy Moffat-Griffin3
Jack Wang et al.
  • 1University of Colorado Boulder, Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, United States of America (jack.c.wang@colorado.edu)
  • 2High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, United States of America
  • 3British Antarctic Survey, United Kingdom

An unusual sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) occurred in the Southern hemisphere in September 2019. Ground-based and satellite observations show the presence of a transient westward-propagating quasi-10 day planetary wave with zonal wavenumber one during the SSW. The planetary wave activity maximizes in the MLT region approximately 10 days after the SSW onset. Analysis indicates the quasi-10 day planetary wave is symmetric about the equator which is contrary to theory for such planetary waves. 

Observations from MLS and SABER provide a unique opportunity to study the global structure and evolution of the symmetric quasi-10 day wave with observations of both geopotential height and temperature during these unusual atmospheric conditions. The space-based measurements are combined with meteor radar wind measurements from Antarctica, providing a comprehensive view of the quasi-10 day wave activity in the southern hemisphere during this SSW. We will also present the results of our mesospheric and lower thermospheric analysis along with a preliminary analysis of the ionospheric response to these wave perturbations.

How to cite: Wang, J., Palo, S., Forbes, J., Marino, J., and Moffat-Griffin, T.: Burst of Unusual Quasi-10 day Wave During the 2019 Southern Sudden Stratospheric Warming, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-296, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-296, 2020.