HR: 10:20h
AN: SA32A-01    [Abstracts]
TI: Winter Upper Mesosphere Interannual Variability Determined from TIMED/SABER Measurements
AU: * Winick, J R
EM: jeremy.winick@hanscom.af.mil
AF: Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate, 29 Randolph Rd, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731-3010, United States
AU: Wintersteiner, P P
EM: winters@arcon.com
AF: Arcon Corporation, 260 Bear Hill Rd., Waltham, MA 02451,
AU: Picard, R H
AF: Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate, 29 Randolph Rd, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731-3010, United States
AU: Esplin, D
AF: Utah State University, 4140 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84332, United States
AU: Mlynczak, M G
AF: Atmospheric Sciences Division, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, United States
AU: Mertens, C J
AF: Atmospheric Sciences Division, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, United States
AU: Russell, J M
AF: Hampton University, Center for Atmospheric Sciences, Hampton, VA 23668, United States
AB: Northern Hemisphere winter interannual variability in the troposphere and stratosphere has been studied for many years. TIMED/SABER data has allowed extension of this work into the middle and upper mesosphere, where large interannual variations are now also being observed. Retrieved OH volume emission rate (VER) profiles show that the altitude and brightness of the OH layer at northern high latitudes are distinctly different in the winters of 2004 and 2005. The mean altitude of the VER peak in the 70-80N latitude range is about 5 km lower in 2004 than 2005 for all night-time local times (20-06 hrs). The variation of the actual altitude with longitude is as much as 8 km that year. At the same time, retrieved SABER temperature is anomalously high in the mesosphere. We map the OH heights and temperature showing clear planetary wave patterns and strong correlation of low OH altitude with high temperatures. These patterns coincide with anomalous behavior in the stratosphere in which the cold polar vortex is displaced to about 45 km altitude. The lowered OH layer along with increased temperature indicates enhanced downward transport that can affect mesospheric and stratospheric chemistry. This behavior appears also in 2006, while 2002, 2003 and 2005 have OH emission heights near 87 km and temperature profiles in the more "normal" range.
DE: 0310 Airglow and aurora
DE: 3332 Mesospheric dynamics
DE: 3334 Middle atmosphere dynamics (0341, 0342)
DE: 3359 Radiative processes
DE: 3389 Tides and planetary waves
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting