[en] Complete text of publication follows. To investigate the effects of decadal solar variability in temperature and ozone, along with interconnections to other features of the middle atmosphere, the data obtained from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) aboard Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS) during the period 1992-2005 have been analyzed using a multifunctional regression model. The inferred annual-mean solar effect on temperature is found to be positive in the lower stratosphere and near stratopause, while it is negative in the middle stratosphere. In the mesosphere it is of the order of 0.5-1K/100sfu. The inferred solar effect on ozone is found to be significant in most of the stratosphere (2±1.1 - 4±1.6 % / 100 sfu), it is insignificant in the lower mesosphere whereas it is of the order of 5%/100sfu in the upper mesosphere. The results over stratosphere are compared with solar response obtained from SAGE II data for the same period. In general, responses of solar signal in temperature and ozone profiles show good agreement for HALOE and SAGE II measurements. Both the data sets show that, the solar effects on ozone and temperature are found to vary dramatically during some months, at least in some altitude regions. Solar effects on temperature are found to be negative during autumn while solar effects on ozone show maximum the next season (winter). Details will be discussed.

No abstract available

[en] Complete text of publication follows. There may exist questions concerning the agreement between temperature retrieved from satellites monitoring the upper stratosphere and mesosphere. The indication is that they do provide reasonably similar temperature profiles, i.e., differences exist but may be insignificant. It is unavoidable that the satellite soundings are not coincidental in time or in location and as a result comparison of these profiles are inexact. We will compare early comparisons of conjunctive inflatable falling sphere and satellite measurements, e.g., HALOE, AIRS, SABER, and possibly others as a surrogate method to infer accuracy between temperature retrievals. Comparison of measurements mainly in polar latitudes will establish the retrieval comparability. Our emphasis is to illustrate how well the retrievals representative the polar summer mesosphere. Whether large differences between remotely sensed temperatures are within expected accuracy bounds will be discussed using profiles between 60-90 km.

[en] A comparison between mesospheric ozone profiles determined by two radically different satellite-borne instruments is presented for the period of July to November 1975. The Limb Radiance Inversion Radiometer (LRIR) measured 9.6 μm O₃ emission while the Ultraviolet Multiple Channel Spectrometer (UVMCS) measured the atmospheric attenuation of solar ultraviolet radiation during passage of the OSO-8 satellite across the terminator. Only nine near coincident measurements were found. The individual instruments have estimated precision errors of +- 10 to 15%. Agreement between ozone values as measured by the two techniques for specific cases varies between 10 and 20%. The statistical correlation is positive and significant at all altitudes where both instruments had reasonable signal-to-noise ratio. A maximum correlation of 0.76 occurred at 0.3 mb (approximately 59 km)

[en] Complete text of publication follows. We present some observed effects of the equatorial QBO and the Sun on polar atmospheric dynamics. The analysis primarily uses data from mesospheric wind radars and ECMWF and NCEP reanalysis. The results demonstrate the importance of treating the atmosphere as a single connected system both vertically from the troposphere to the thermosphere, and horizontally from one pole to the other. Examples include the combined solar and QBO influence on (i) planetary wave propagation between the winter troposphere and summer polar mesosphere, (ii) the dynamics of the polar vortex in the Antarctic mesosphere, and (iii) the variability of major polar atmospheric modes.

[en] Complete text of publication follows. A statistical evaluation of the upper mesospheric and lower thermospheric temperature effects caused by energetic particle precipitation is performed based on data from the TIMED and NOAA 15, 16 and 17 satellites. By combining particle measurement from the Medium Energy Proton and Electron Detectors (MEPED) on board the NOAA satellites, crude maps of the global particle precipitation can be obtained close in time to the SABER (Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry) temperature retrieval. The particle measurements are projected down to about 100 km where they are sorted into a geomagnetic grid, where each cell covers 4 deg in latitude and 10 deg in longitude. A global distribution of the precipitating energetic particles is then obtained by interpolating linearly between cells at the same geomagnetic latitudes for the passes of the different satellites. The temperature measurements are sorted into the same geomagnetic grid as used for the particle measurements. A total amount of 80 days of SABER and MEPED data is investigated. The data are sorted by season, latitude, and local time in order to reduce potential effects from temperature climatology. We investigate both the immediate temperature response as well as possible temperature effects accumulated over time in regions of particle precipitation.

[en] Complete text of publication follows. The presentation is focused on the global spatial (altitude and latitude) structure, seasonal and interannual variability of the ∼5-day Rossby (W1) and ∼6-day Kelvin (E1) waves derived from the SABER/TIMED temperature measurements for full 6 years (January 2002-December 2007). The latitude structure of the ∼5-day W1 wave is related to the gravest symmetric wave number 1 Rossby wave, i.e. the (1,1) mode. Its seasonal behavior is dominated by equinoctial amplifications; in the NH the wave amplifies in March-April and September, while in the SH - in March and November. The vertical structure of the ∼5-day Rossby wave amplitude revealed double-peaked maxima centered at ∼80-90 km in the mesosphere and ∼105-110 km in the lower thermosphere, as the lower thermospheric maximum is at least two times stronger than the mesospheric one. This is a vertically propagating wave from the stratosphere up to 120 km altitude with a mean vertical wavelength of ∼50-60 km. The ∼5-day Rossby wave at middle latitudes (40 deg) revealed some interannual variability and at least part of it is connected with the effect of QBO. The ∼6-day E1 wave is equatorially trapped wave located between 20 deg N and 20 deg S. Its seasonal behavior indicated some equinoctial and June solstice amplifications. The altitude structure of the ∼6-day Kelvin wave phase indicated that this is a vertically propagating wave up to 110 km altitude. The mean vertical wavelength in the stratosphere and mesosphere is ∼25 km, however above 95 km altitude the vertical wavelength shortened to 15 km. The ∼6-day Kelvin wave indicated significant SAO and QBO variability.

[en] Complete text of publication follows. We have analyzed 22 years (1987 to 2008) of mesospheric sodium measurements, searching for possible long-term changes in the characteristics of sporadic sodium layers (narrow layers of enhanced sodium standing out from the background layer). During these years the vertical resolution of our lidar was either 0.25 or 0.3 km. Initially each candidate layer had height and density digitized for the two background points and the layer peak. A program was then run which allowed the input of criteria for the selection of sporadic layers from the candidate layers organizing the results into 3 groups: all data, seasonal and biennial (2-year averages). For the strength factor (ratio of the peak amplitude to the average background) of the all data group, the most frequent value was 3 with almost 40% of the layer strengths falling between 2.5 and 3.5. For greater strengths the occurrence rate decreased logarithmically (log of occurrence rate decreasing linearly with increasing strength factor) up to a strength factor of about 14, after which it leveled off. For the seasonal group, the results are similar with winter having the steepest slope, followed by fall, and spring and summer being similar with the least slope. For the biennial group, 1987-2000 were similar with steeper slopes as compared to 2001-2008. With respect to the width of the sporadic layers, we find maximum occurrence for a width of 1.25 km, with 35% between 1.125 and 1.375 km. and then decreasing logarithmically to 4.75 km. The seasonal data was essentially the same for all seasons, and the biennial had no consistent behavior. A comparison of the average peak height for the sporadic and normal layer shows a somewhat similar behavior but with the normal height about 2 to 3 km lower than the sporadic. The preferred sporadic layer peak height for all the data was 93 km. The number of layers per hour for all data was close to 0.6 from 1800 LT to midnight, decreasing to about 0.3 at 0600 LT. Our daytime data is sparse, but it appears that the occurrence rate is roughly constant during the day, up to 1500 LT, after which it increases to its nighttime value.

[en] Complete text of publication follows. We report the first remote observations of meteoric smoke particles from satellite, by the Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment (SOFIE) onboard the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) platform. Smoke particles are the leading candidate for the nucleation of ice particles that make up noctilucent clouds, however, the role of smoke is a subject of debate because the current understanding of these particles has been derived mostly from theory combined with a few limited ground-based observations. SOFIE measurements are compared to model results which predict the abundance of smoke particles in altitude, latitude, and time. SOFIE and the models are found to agree favorably, indicating smoke particles from roughly 35 to 85 km altitude and a strong seasonal dependence in smoke abundance, which is consistent with meridional transport. These new measurements are important to understanding a variety of other phenomena including mesospheric ion and neutral chemistry, nucleation of polar stratospheric clouds which are critical in ozone hole chemistry, and the long term accumulation of extraterrestrial material in polar ice.

[en] Complete text of publication follows. Favored occurrences of Equatorial Counter Electrojets (CEJs) with a quasi 16-day periodicity over Trivandrum (8.5degN, 76.5degE, 0.5degN diplat.) in association with the polar Stratospheric Sudden Warming (SSW) events are presented. It is observed that, the stratospheric temperature at ∼30 km over Trivandrum shows a sudden cooling prior to the SSWs and the CEJs of maximum intensity occurs around this time. It must be mentioned that the strength of the CEJs is proportional to the intensity of the SSW events. Stratospheric zonal mean zonal wind at ∼30 km also exhibits a distinctly different pattern during the SSW period. These circulation changes are proposed to be conducive for the upward propagation of the lower atmospheric waves over the equatorial latitudes. The interaction of such waves with the tidal components at the upper mesosphere and its subsequent modification are suggested to be responsible for the occurrence of CEJs having planetary wave periods.