edu.ucar.opensky::articles:18727 UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact 2025-12-26T02:45:28.010291 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d72j6djp Impact of semidiurnal tidal variability during SSWs on the mean state of the ionosphere and thermosphere 2016-08-01T00:00:00Z publication https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d72j6djp https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JA022910 Pedatella, Nicholas M. author Richmond, Arthur D. author Maute, Astrid author Liu, Hanli author UCAR/NCAR - Library publisher Observations from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) satellites reveal a global reduction in the zonal and diurnal mean F region peak electron density (NmF2) during sudden stratosphere warmings (SSWs). The present study investigates the source of the global NmF2 decrease by performing numerical experiments with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) thermosphere-ionosphere-electrodynamics general circulation model. The simulations reveal that the NmF2 reduction coincides with a depletion of thermospheric [O]/[N2], indicating that the NmF2 depletion is related to changes in thermospheric composition during SSWs. Numerical experiments further illustrate that the short-term (∼10 day) enhancement of the migrating semidiurnal solar tide (SW2) during SSWs is the source of the variability in thermospheric composition. In particular, the enhancement of the SW2 during SSWs alters the lower thermosphere zonal mean circulation, leading to a reduction in atomic oxygen in the lower thermosphere. The atomic oxygen reduction propagates into the upper thermosphere through molecular diffusion, leading to a decrease in [O]/[N2] throughout the low- to middle-latitude thermosphere. It is anticipated that the effects of the SW2 on the ionosphere and thermosphere investigated herein will be modulated by SSW related enhancements of the migrating semidiurnal lunar tide (M2). The magnitude of the combined impact of the SW2 and M2 on the ionosphere-thermosphere mean state will depend on the relative phasing of the solar and lunar tides. The results demonstrate that in addition to modulating the low-latitude electrodynamics, tidal variability during SSWs can significantly impact the mean state of the ionosphere and thermosphere. UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact PDF Text theme Resource Type 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z publication Copyright 2016 American Geophysical Union. None eng geoscientificInformation