GHOST: A Satellite Mission Concept for Persistent Monitoring of Stratospheric Gravity Waves Induced by Severe Storms

Tratt, David M.; Hackwell, J. A.; Valant-Spaight, B.; Walterscheid, R. L.; Gelinas, L. J.; Hecht, J. H.; Swenson, C.; Lampen, Caleb Parnell; Alexander, M. Joan; Hoffmann, Lars; Nolan, David S.; Miller, Steven D.; Hall, Jeffrey L.; Atlas, Robert; Marks, Frank D.; Partain, Philip T.

doi:10.1175/bams-d-17-0064.1

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…The waves seen in DNB nightglow imagery are best understood as a cross-sectional snapshot of what is in fact a four-dimensional (space/time) varying spectrum of gravity waves throughout the atmospheric column. Nearly concurrent observations (not shown here) from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on NASA's Aqua satellite detected concentric waves in the form of temperature perturbations at ~4.3 µm in the midstratosphere (~40 km; e.g., Hoffmann et al 2018;Tratt et al 2018), while a continental U.S. surface-based total electronic content (TEC) array measured similar concentric wave patterns in the lower ionosphere (90-400 km; e.g., Azeem et al 2015), as the waves induced collisional interactions in the plasma.…”

Section: At Th E W ' S E X Te N S I V E Path O F Devastationmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…However, what these waves communicate in terms of storm dynamics, and specifically in terms of storm intensity assessment and prediction, is a subject of growing interest on the cutting edge of scientific inquiry. The basic relationship between TC intensity and stratospheric gravity wave activity has been demonstrated and empirically established (Hoffmann et al 2018), leading to suggestions for new geostationary-based, AIRS-like satellite observing systems (measuring temperature perturbations in the CO 2 absorption band near 4.3 µm) dedicated to the continuous monitoring and characterization of gravity waves (Tratt et al 2018).…”

Section: At Th E W ' S E X Te N S I V E Path O F Devastationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whereas the broad significance of these gravity waves to the general circulation of the atmosphere is well understood (Alexander et al 2010), the practical applications of wave detection to the assessment and monitoring of TC intensity is a topic of active research (Hoffmann et al 2018;Tratt et al 2018). Figure 3 shows thermal infrared (10.763 µm) and DNB imagery for Matthew, honing in on the early morning hours of 1 October, about one day after Matthew had intensified to major hurricane status.…”

Section: At Th E W ' S E X Te N S I V E Path O F Devastationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Dark Side of Hurricane Matthew: Unique Perspectives from the VIIRS Day/Night Band

Miller

Straka

Yue

et al. 2018

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

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Hurricane Matthew (28 September–9 October 2016) was perhaps the most infamous storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, claiming over 600 lives and causing over $15 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages across the central Caribbean and southeastern U.S. seaboard. Research surrounding Matthew and its many noteworthy meteorological characteristics (e.g., rapid intensification into the southernmost category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin on record, strong lightning and sprite production, and unusual cloud morphology) is ongoing. Satellite remote sensing typically plays an important role in the forecasting and study of hurricanes, providing a top-down perspective on storms developing over the remote and inherently data-sparse tropical oceans. In this regard, a relative newcomer among the suite of satellite observations useful for tropical cyclone monitoring and research is the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) day/night band (DNB), a sensor flying on board the NOAA–NASA Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite. Unlike conventional instruments, the DNB’s sensitivity to extremely low levels of visible and near-infrared light offers new insight into storm properties and impacts. Here, we chronicle Matthew’s path of destruction and peer through the DNB’s looking glass of low-light visible observations, including lightning connected to sprite formation, modulation of the atmospheric nightglow by storm-generated gravity waves, and widespread power outages. Collected without moonlight, these examples showcase the wealth of unique information present in DNB nocturnal low-light observations without moonlight, and their potential to complement traditional satellite measurements of tropical storms worldwide.

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Section: At Th E W ' S E X Te N S I V E Path O F Devastationmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: At Th E W ' S E X Te N S I V E Path O F Devastationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: At Th E W ' S E X Te N S I V E Path O F Devastationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Dark Side of Hurricane Matthew: Unique Perspectives from the VIIRS Day/Night Band

Miller

Straka

Yue

et al. 2018

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

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“…(2002), Nolan and Zhang (2017), and Tratt et al. (2018). As seen in Figure 2a, under the influence of the easterly flow, the GWs show asymmetric patterns: the waves are suppressed downstream on the west side of the hurricane, and the wavefronts are compacted more closely on the east side.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Stratospheric Gravity Waves as a Proxy for Hurricane Intensification: A Case Study of Weather Research and Forecast Simulation for Hurricane Joaquin

Hoffmann

Hindley

et al. 2021

Geophysical Research Letters

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Tropical cyclones (TCs) are among the most destructive natural weather phenomena and can cause extensive damage to coastal countries and regions. Close monitoring and accurate forecasts of the tracks and intensity of TCs are needed to reduce human and financial losses.Tropical cyclones are powered by latent heating, mainly from strong updrafts in the eyewall (Charney & Eliassen, 1964;Emanuel, 1986;Kuo, 1965), and latent heat release in the storm is responsible for the dynamical structure and intensity change of the storm (Braun, 2002;Cecil & Zipser, 1999). Latent heat release is also involved in generating stratospheric gravity waves (GWs) (

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“…These generally have wavelengths from tens to hundreds of kilometers. More recently, it has been proposed that measurement of stratospheric gravity wave activity generated by TCs could be used to estimate TC intensity or TC intensity change (Tratt et al 2018;Hoffmann et al 2018). There have also been low-level and surface observations of passing gravity waves in the vicinities of TCs (Matsumoto and Okumar 1985;Sato 1993;Niranjan Kumar et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Investigation of Spiral Gravity Waves Radiating from Tropical Cyclones Using a Linear, Nonhydrostatic Model

Nolan

2020

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

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A recent study showed observational and numerical evidence for small-scale gravity waves that radiate outward from tropical cyclones. These waves are wrapped into tight spirals by the radial and vertical shears of the tangential wind field. Reexamination of the previously studied tropical cyclone simulations suggests that the dominant source for these waves are convective asymmetries rotating along the eyewall, modulated in intensity by the preferred convection region on the left side of the environmental wind shear vector. A linearized, nonhydrostatic model for perturbations to a balanced vortex is used to study the waves. Forcing the linear model with rotating and pulsing asymmetric heat sources generates radiating gravity waves with multiple vertical and horizontal structures. The pulsation of the rotating heat source generates two types of waves: fast, deep waves with larger radial wavelengths, and slower, secondary waves with shorter radial and vertical wavelengths. The deeper waves produce surface pressure oscillations that have time scales consistent with surface observations, whereas the shorter waves have little surface indication but produce oscillations in vertical velocity with shorter radial wavelengths that are consistent with aircraft observations. Convective forcing that is either not pulsing or not rotating produces gravity waves but they are not as similar to the observed or simulated waves. The effects of varying the intensity of the cyclone, the asymmetry of the forcing, and the static stability of the surrounding atmosphere are explored.

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GHOST: A Satellite Mission Concept for Persistent Monitoring of Stratospheric Gravity Waves Induced by Severe Storms

Abstract: GHOST would continuously monitor storm-induced gravity waves, observing their development through complete storm life cycles in order to elucidate causal relationships between storm phenomena linked to latent heating and gravity wave production.

Cited by 7 publications

References 52 publications

The Dark Side of Hurricane Matthew: Unique Perspectives from the VIIRS Day/Night Band

The Dark Side of Hurricane Matthew: Unique Perspectives from the VIIRS Day/Night Band

Stratospheric Gravity Waves as a Proxy for Hurricane Intensification: A Case Study of Weather Research and Forecast Simulation for Hurricane Joaquin

An Investigation of Spiral Gravity Waves Radiating from Tropical Cyclones Using a Linear, Nonhydrostatic Model

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