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On using ocean swells for continuous infrasonic measurements of winds and temperature in the lower, middle, and upper atmosphere
Author(s) -
Garcés M.,
Willis M.,
Hetzer C.,
Le Pichon A.,
Drob D.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2004gl020696
Subject(s) - stratosphere , troposphere , mesosphere , atmosphere (unit) , atmospheric sciences , geology , environmental science , wind speed , atmospheric duct , radiosonde , climatology , meteorology , oceanography , physics
The arrival azimuths of coherent microbarom signals observed in Hawaii during 2003 are associated with high ocean wave activity in the Pacific Basin, the dominant wind directions in the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere, and the thermal structure of the atmosphere. Some of the seasonal trends in the microbarom observations can be explained by the winds in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere, while some of the daily variability can be explained by the winds in the troposphere and lower stratosphere. However, coherent energy from powerful swells may overcome the wind‐carried microbarom signals and arrive to the station through thermospheric ducting. Our observations suggest that either (1) the wind speeds in the troposphere, stratosphere and mesosphere may be underestimated in atmospheric models or (2) elevated leaky infrasonic waveguides are persistent propagation paths that should be investigated in more detail.