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Anomalous winter hydroxyl temperatures at 69°S during 2002 in a multiyear context
Author(s) -
French W. John R.,
Burns Gary B.,
Espy Patrick J.
Publication year - 2005
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 - 10.1029/2004gl022287
Subject(s) - anomaly (physics) , atmospheric sciences , climatology , context (archaeology) , environmental science , stratosphere , amplitude , mesosphere , airglow , geology , physics , paleontology , condensed matter physics , quantum mechanics
Hydroxyl airglow temperatures measured over Davis station, Antarctica (68°S, 78°E) in 2002 are compared to an 8‐year climatological mean. The 2002 winter average temperature was 5.1 ± 0.8K warmer than the climatological mean. This anomaly is a factor of two larger than what can be attributed to solar flux increases. Of the 210 nightly averages obtained, 72 (34%) exceeded the climatological maximum, primarily in two unusually warm intervals in late‐May to early‐June and in mid‐July. An unusually cold interval (10 nights below the climatological minimum) coincided with a climatological dip in mid‐August. Temperature oscillations of 15–20 K amplitude, extending over 4 cycles across the Sep–Oct stratospheric warming correlate with Rothera temperatures and Davis mesospheric winds and are consistent with a 14‐day westward propagating zonal planetary wave number 1.