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Impact of terrestrial weather on the upper atmosphere
Author(s) -
FullerRowell T. J.,
Akmaev R. A.,
Wu F.,
Anghel A.,
Maruyama N.,
Anderson D. N.,
Codrescu M. V.,
Iredell M.,
Moorthi S.,
Juang H.M.,
Hou Y.T.,
Millward G.
Publication year - 2008
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 - 10.1029/2007gl032911
Subject(s) - thermosphere , atmosphere (unit) , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , troposphere , altitude (triangle) , ionosphere , atmospheric models , atmospheric model , climatology , meteorology , geology , physics , geophysics , geometry , mathematics
A whole atmosphere model has been developed to demonstrate the impact of terrestrial weather on the upper atmosphere. The dynamical core is based on the NWS Global Forecast System model, which has been extended to cover altitudes from the ground to 600 km. The model includes the physical processes responsible for the stochastic nature of the lower atmosphere, which is a source of variability for the upper atmosphere. The upper levels include diffusive separation, wind induced transport of major species, and uses specific enthalpy as the dependent variable, to accommodate composition dependent gas constants and specific heats. A one‐year model simulation reveals planetary waves explicitly up to 100 km altitude. At higher altitude, multi‐day periodicities in the dynamics appear as a modulation of tidal amplitudes, particularly the migrating semi‐diurnal tide in the lower thermosphere dynamo region. The penetration of planetary wave periodicities from tropospheric weather into the upper atmosphere can explain terrestrial weather sources of variability in the thermospheric and ionospheric.