SuperDARN Observations of Semidiurnal Tidal Variability in the MLT and the Response to Sudden Stratospheric Warming Events

TL;DR

This study uses SuperDARN meteor wind data to analyze semidiurnal tidal variability in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, revealing how tides respond to sudden stratospheric warming events and distinguishing between migrating and nonmigrating components.

Contribution

It demonstrates the separation of migrating and nonmigrating tides in the MLT and documents their behavior during SSWs using 20-year climatology and event analysis.

Findings

Migrating SDT peaks in summer and winter, nonmigrating components are strong in autumn and spring.

Migrating SDT amplitude decreases immediately after SSW onset and recovers 10-17 days later.

Changes in wind direction influence tidal amplitude modulation during SSW evolution.

Abstract

Using meteor wind data from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) in the Northern Hemisphere, we (1) demonstrate that the migrating (Sun-synchronous) tides can be separated from the nonmigrating components in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region and (2) use this to determine the response of the different components of the semidiurnal tide (SDT) to sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) conditions. The radars span a limited range of latitudes around 60$^{\circ}$ N and are located over nearly 180$^{\circ}$ of longitude. The migrating tide is extracted from the nonmigrating components observed in the meridional wind recorded from meteor ablation drift velocities around 95-km altitude, and a 20-year climatology of the different components is presented. The well-documented late summer and wintertime maxima in the semidiurnal winds are shown to be due primarily to the migrating SDT, whereas during late autumn and spring the nonmigrating components are at least as strong as the migrating SDT. The robust behavior of the SDT components during SSWs is then examined by compositing 13 SSW events associated with an elevated stratopause recorded between 1995 and 2013. The migrating SDT is seen to reduce in amplitude immediately after SSW onset and then return anomalously strongly around 10-17 days after the SSW onset. We conclude that changes in the underlying wind direction play a role in modulating the tidal amplitude during the evolution of SSWs and that the enhancement in the midlatitude migrating SDT (previously reported in modeling studies) is observed in the MLT at least up to 60$^{\circ}$ N.