The strong activity of noctilucent clouds at middle latitudes in 2020

Dalin, Peter; Suzuki, Hidehiko; Pertsev, N. N.; Perminov, V. I.; Shevchuk, Nikita; Tsimerinov, Egor; Zalcik, Mark; Brausch, Jay; McEwan, Tom; McEachran, I.; Connors, Martin; Schofield, Ian; Dubietis, A.; Cernis, K.; Zadorozhny, A. M.; Solodovnik, A. A.; Lifatova, Daria; Grønne, Jesper; Hansen, O.; Andersen, Henrik L.; Melnikov, D.V.; Manevich, A.G.; Гусев, Н. А.; Romejko, V.

doi:10.1016/j.polar.2022.100920

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…There have also been recent observations of MCs at unusually low latitudes (Dalin et al, 2023;Nielsen et al, 2011;Suzuki et al, 2016). This is caused by a combination of different factors, such as an increase in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and water vapor concentration between approximately 79 and 89 km altitude (Dalin et al, 2023;Lübken et al, 2018). An increase in CO 2 and CH 4 is associated with a reduction in temperature due to infrared cooling and dynamical feedback in the mesosphere.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Observational studies suggest an increase in occurrence frequency of MC in recent years (Berger & Lübken, 2015; Dalin et al, 2023; Hervig et al, 2016; Lübken et al, 2018). There have also been recent observations of MCs at unusually low latitudes (Dalin et al, 2023; Nielsen et al, 2011; Suzuki et al, 2016). This is caused by a combination of different factors, such as an increase in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and water vapor concentration between approximately 79 and 89 km altitude (Dalin et al, 2023; Lübken et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Low latitude mesospheric clouds in a warmer climate

Dutta,

Sherwood,

Meissner

et al. 2024

Atmospheric Science Letters

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Observations show that mesospheric clouds (MCs) have been increasing in recent decades, presumably due to increased mesospheric water vapor which is mainly caused by greater methane (CH4) oxidation in the middle atmosphere. Past warm climates such as those of the early Cretaceous and Paleogene periods are thought to have had higher CH4 concentrations than present day, and future CH4 concentrations will also likely continue to rise. Here, idealized atmosphere chemistry‐climate model experiments forced with strong polar‐amplified sea‐surface temperatures and elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) and CH4 concentrations predict a substantial spreading of MCs to middle and low latitudes, well beyond regions where they are currently found. Sensitivity tests show that increased water vapor from CH4 oxidation and cooling from increased CO2 and CH4 concentrations create favorable conditions for cloud formation, producing MC fractions of 0.02 in the low latitudes and 0.1 in the mid‐latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere when CH4 concentration is 16× higher than pre‐industrial. Further increases in CH4 result in a monotonic increase in low‐ and mid‐latitude MCs. A uniform surface ocean warming, changes in polar amplification, or the solar constant do not significantly affect our results. While the appearance of these clouds is interesting, their ice and liquid water content is not sufficient to cause a significant radiative effect. On the other hand, dehydration of the mesosphere due to these low‐ and mid‐latitude MCs could potentially lead to a reduction in atomic hydrogen, thereby affecting mesospheric ozone concentration, although further study is required to confirm this.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Low latitude mesospheric clouds in a warmer climate

Dutta,

Sherwood,

Meissner

et al. 2024

Atmospheric Science Letters

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“…Observational and modeling studies have linked PMC changes to enhanced ice particle production by increased CO 2 cooling [10,12,13]. Linkages between increases in PMC occurrence and brightness to climate change on different time scales have been discussed by a number of authors [14][15][16][17][18]. On a centennial timescale, it has been suggested that a H 2 O increase of about ~1 ppmv due to methane oxidation in the mesosphere during the industrialization era could be one of the major contributing factors to the more frequent occurrence of PMCs observed in recent years [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sensitivity of Polar Mesospheric Clouds to Mesospheric Temperature and Water Vapor

Lee,

Wu,

Thurairajah

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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Polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) data obtained from the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM)/Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) experiment and Himawari-8/Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) observations are analyzed for multi-year climatology and interannual variations. Linkages between PMCs, mesospheric temperature, and water vapor (H2O) are further investigated with data from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). Our analysis shows that PMC onset date and occurrence rate are strongly dependent on the atmospheric environment, i.e., the underlying seasonal behavior of temperature and water vapor. Upper-mesospheric dehydration by PMCs is evident in the MLS water vapor observations. The spatial patterns of the depleted water vapor correspond to the PMC occurrence region over the Arctic and Antarctic during the days after the summer solstice. The year-to-year variabilities in PMC occurrence rates and onset dates are highly correlated with mesospheric temperature and H2O. They show quasi-quadrennial oscillation (QQO) with 4–5-year periods, particularly in the southern hemisphere (SH). The combined influence of mesospheric cooling and the mesospheric H2O increase provides favorable conditions for PMC formation. The global increase in mesospheric H2O during the last decade may explain the increased PMC occurrence in the northern hemisphere (NH). Although mesospheric temperature and H2O exhibit a strong 11-year variation, little solar cycle signatures are found in the PMC occurrence during 2007–2021.

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Cross-wave profiles of altitude and particle size of noctilucent clouds in the case of one-dimensional small-scale gravity wave pattern

Ugolnikov

2023

Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

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The strong activity of noctilucent clouds at middle latitudes in 2020

Cited by 3 publications

References 56 publications

Low latitude mesospheric clouds in a warmer climate

Low latitude mesospheric clouds in a warmer climate

The Sensitivity of Polar Mesospheric Clouds to Mesospheric Temperature and Water Vapor

Cross-wave profiles of altitude and particle size of noctilucent clouds in the case of one-dimensional small-scale gravity wave pattern

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