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Mesospheric gravity-wave (GW) phase velocity spectra and total powers at two Antarctic stations, Davis and Syowa, were derived using OH airglow image data from March to October in 2016. The total p...

JGR / Atmospheres 128(11), e2022JD038249 (2023). doi:10.1029/2022JD038249, An international joint research project, entitled Interhemispheric Coupling Study by Observations and Modelling (ICSOM), is ongoing. In the late 2000s, an interesting form of interhemispheric coupling (IHC) was discovered: when warming occurs in the winter polar stratosphere, the upper mesosphere in the summer hemisphere also becomes warmer with a time lag of days. This IHC phenomenon is considered to be a coupling through processes in the middle atmosphere (i.e., stratosphere, mesosphere, and lower thermosphere). Several plausible mechanisms have been proposed so far, but they are still controversial. This is mainly because of the difficulty in observing and simulating gravity waves (GWs) at small scales, despite the important role they are known to play in middle atmosphere dynamics. In this project, by networking sparsely but globally distributed radars, mesospheric GWs have been simultaneously observed in seven boreal winters since 2015/16. We have succeeded in capturing five stratospheric sudden warming events and two polar vortex intensification events. This project also includes the development of a new data assimilation system to generate long-term reanalysis data for the whole middle atmosphere, and simulations by a state-of-the-art GW-permitting general circulation model using the reanalysis data as initial values. By analyzing data from these observations, data assimilation, and model simulation, comprehensive studies to investigate the mechanism of IHC are planned. This paper provides an overview of ICSOM, but even initial results suggest that not only GWs but also large-scale waves are important for the mechanism of the IHC., Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ

The 13th Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions [IW] Whole atmosphere, Fri. 18 Nov.

The 13th Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions [IW] Whole atmosphere, Fri. 18 Nov.

The 13th Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions [IW] Whole atmosphere, Fri. 18 Nov.

The 13th Symposium on Polar Science/Special session [S] Towards the next six-year Japanese Antarctic Research Project (phase X), Tue. 15 Nov.

The 13th Symposium on Polar Science/Special session [S] Towards the next six-year Japanese Antarctic Research Project (phase X), Tue. 15 Nov.

The 13th Symposium on Polar Science/Special session [S] Towards the next six-year Japanese Antarctic Research Project (phase X), Tue. 15 Nov.

大気球シンポジウム 2022年度（2022年11月7-8日. ハイブリッド開催（JAXA相模原キャンパス& オンライン)), Balloon Symposium 2022 (November 7-8, 2022. Hybrid(in-person & online) Conference (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)(ISAS)), Sagamihara, Kanagawa Japan, 資料番号: SA6000177026, レポート番号: isas22-sbs-026

While knowledge of the energy inputs from the Sun (as it is the primary energy source) is important for understanding the solar-terrestrial system, of equal importance is the manner in which the terrestrial part of the system organizes itself in a quasi-equilibrium state to accommodate and re-emit this energy. The ROSMIC project (2014–2018 inclusive) was the component of SCOSTEP’s Variability of the Sun and Its Terrestrial Impact (VarSITI) program which supported research into the terrestrial component of this system. The four themes supported under ROSMIC are solar influence on climate, coupling by dynamics, trends in the mesosphere lower thermosphere, and trends and solar influence in the thermosphere. Over the course of the VarSITI program, scientific advances were made in all four themes. This included improvements in understanding (1) the transport of photochemically produced species from the thermosphere into the lower atmosphere; (2) the manner in which waves produced in the lower atmosphere propagate upward and influence the winds, dynamical variability, and transport of constituents in the mesosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere; (3) the character of the long-term trends in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere; and (4) the trends and structural changes taking place in the thermosphere. This paper reviews the progress made in these four areas over the past 5 years and summarizes the anticipated research directions in these areas in the future. It also provides a physical context of the elements which maintain the structure of the terrestrial component of this system. The effects that changes to the atmosphere (such as those currently occurring as a result of anthropogenic influences) as well as plausible variations in solar activity may have on the solar terrestrial system need to be understood to support and guide future human activities on Earth. [Figure not available: see fulltext.][Figure not available: see fulltext.][Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2021, The Author(s)., WW and AS gratefully acknowledge funding from the ISEE (Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research), Nagoya University, for support to attend the VarSITI summarizing workshop where the results discussed in this review paper were presented. With funding from the Spanish government through the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence accreditation SEV-2017-0709.

The 12th Symposium on Polar Science, 15–18 Nov. 2021, National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS)

Imaging observations of OH airglow were conducted at Meiji University, Japan (IN, mE), from May 2018 to December 2019. Mountainous areas, including Mt. Fuji, are located to the west of the imager, and westerly winds are dominant in the lower atmosphere throughout the year. Mountain waves (MWs) are generated on the leeward sides of mountains and occasionally propagate to the upper atmosphere. However, during the observation period (about 1 year and 8 months), only four possible MW events were identified. Based on previous reports, this incidence is considerably lower than expected. There are two possible reasons for the low incidence of MW events: (1) The frequency of MW excitation is small in the lower layers of the atmosphere, and/or (2) MWs do not propagate easily to the upper mesosphere due to background wind conditions. This study verified the likelihood of the former case. Under over-mountain airflow conditions, wavy clouds are often generated on the leeward side. Since over-mountain airflow is essential for the excitation of MWs, the frequency of wavy clouds in the lower atmosphere can be regarded as a measure of the occurrence of MWs. The frequency and spatial distribution of MWs around Japan were investigated by detecting the wavy clouds from color images taken by the Himawari-8 geostationary meteorological satellite (GSM-8) for one year in 2018. The wavy clouds were detected on more than 70 days a year around the Tohoku region, but just 20 days a year around Mt. Fuji. This suggests that few MWs are generated around Mt. Fuji. The differences between these two regions were examined focusing on the relationship between the local topography and dominant horizontal wind fields in the lower atmosphere. Specifically, the findings showed that the angle between the dominant horizontal wind direction and the orientation of the mountain ridge is a good proxy of the occurrence of wavy clouds, i.e., excitation of MWs in mountainous areas. We have also applied this proxy to topography in other areas of the world to investigate areas where MWs would be occurring frequently. Finally, we discuss the likelihood of "MW hotspots" at various spatial scales in the world.

The 11th Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions: [IW] Whole atmosphere, Thu. 3 Dec.

The 11th Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions: [IW] Whole atmosphere, Thu. 3 Dec.

The 11th Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions: [IW] Whole atmosphere, Poster presentations, Mon. 16 Nov. - Fri. 18 Dec.

The 11th Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions: [IW] Whole atmosphere, Poster presentations, Mon. 16 Nov. - Fri. 18 Dec.

The 11th Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions: [IW] Whole atmosphere, Poster presentations, Mon. 16 Nov. - Fri. 18 Dec.

We retrieved lower stratospheric vertical profiles of O3, HNO3, and HCl from solar spectra taken with a ground-based Fourier-Transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) installed at Syowa Station, Antarctica (69.0°S, 39.6°E) from March to December 2007 and September to November 2011. This was the first continuous measurements of chlorine species throughout the ozone hole period from the ground in Antarctica. We analyzed temporal variation of these species combined with ClO, HCl, and HNO3 data taken with the Aura/MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder) satellite sensor, and ClONO2 data taken with the Envisat/MIPAS (The Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) satellite sensor at 18 and 22 km over Syowa Station. HCl and ClONO2 decrease occurred from the end of May at both 18 and 22 km, and eventually in early winter, both HCl and ClONO2 were almost depleted. When the sun returned to Antarctica in spring, enhancement of ClO and gradual O3 destruction were observed. During the ClO enhanced period, negative correlation between ClO and ClONO2 was observed in the time-series of the data at Syowa Station. This negative correlation was associated with the relative distance between Syowa Station and the edge of the polar vortex. We used MIROC3.2 Chemistry-Climate Model (CCM) results to investigate the behavior of whole chlorine and related species inside the polar vortex and the boundary region in more detail. From CCM model results, rapid conversion of chlorine reservoir species (HCl and ClONO2) into Cl2, gradual conversion of Cl2 into Cl2O2, increase of HOCl in winter period, increase of ClO when sunlight became available, and conversion of ClO into HCl, was successfully reproduced. HCl decrease in the winter polar vortex core continued to occur due to both transport of ClONO2 from the subpolar region to higher latitudes, providing a flux of ClONO2 from more sunlit latitudes into the polar vortex, and the heterogeneous reaction of HCl with HOCl. Temporal variation of chlorine species over Syowa Station was affected by both heterogeneous chemistries related to Polar Stratospheric Cloud (PSC) occurrence inside the polar vortex, and transport of a NOx-rich airmass from the polar vortex boundary region which can produce additional ClONO2 by reaction of ClO with NO2. The deactivation pathways from active chlorine into reservoir species (HCl and/or ClONO2) were confirmed to be highly dependent on the availability of ambient O3. At 18 km where most ozone was depleted, most ClO was converted to HCl. At 22km where some O3 was available, additional increase of ClONO2 from pre-winter value occurred, similar as in the Arctic.

We developed user-friendly software based on Matsuda et al.'s (2014) 3D-FFT method (Matsuda-transform, M-transform) for airglow imaging data analysis as a function of Interactive Data Language (IDL). Users can customize the range of wave parameters to process when executing the program. The input for this function is a 3-D array of a time series of a 2-D airglow image in geographical coordinates. We applied this new function to mesospheric airglow imaging data with slightly different observation parameters obtained for the period of April–May at three different latitudes: Syowa Station, the Antarctic (69∘ S, 40∘ E); Shigaraki, Japan (35∘ N, 136∘ E); and Tomohon, Indonesia (1∘ N, 122∘ E). The day-to-day variation of the phase velocity spectrum at the Syowa Station is smaller and the propagation direction is mainly westward. In Shigaraki, the day-to-day variation of the horizontal propagation direction is larger than that at the Syowa Station; the variation in Tomohon is even larger. In Tomohon, the variation of the nightly power spectrum magnitude is remarkable, which indicates the intermittency of atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs). The average nightly spectrum obtained from April–May shows that the dominant propagation is westward with a phase speed  m s−1 at the Syowa Station and east-southeastward with a phase speed of up to ∼80 m s−1 in Shigaraki. The day-to-day variation in Tomohon is too strong to discuss average characteristics; however, a phase speed of up to ∼100 m s−1 and faster is observed. The corresponding background wind profiles derived from MERRA-2 indicate that wind filtering plays a significant role in filtering out waves that propagate eastward at the Syowa Station. On the other hand, the background wind is not strong enough to filter out relatively high-speed AGWs in Shigaraki and Tomohon and the dominant propagation direction is likely related to the distribution and characteristics of the source region, at least in April and May.

Solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays around the solar minimum in 2019–2020 looks different in the secondary neutrons and muons observed at the ground. To compare the solar modulation of primary cosmic rays in detail, we must remove the possible seasonal variations caused by the atmosphere and surrounding environment. As such surrounding environment effects, we evaluate the snow cover effect on neutron count rate and the atmospheric temperature effect on muon count rate, both simultaneously observed at Syowa Station in the Antarctic (69.01° S, 39.59° E). A machine learning technique, Echo State Network (ESN), is applied to estimate both effects hidden in the observed time series of the count rate. We show that the ESN with the input of GDAS data (temperature time series at 925, 850, 700, 600, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 70, 50, 30, and 20 hPa) at the local position can be useful for both the temperature correction for muons and snow cover correction for neutrons. The corrected muon count rate starts decreasing in late 2019, preceding the corrected neutron count rate which starts decreasing in early 2020, possibly indicating the rigidity-dependent solar modulation in the heliosphere.

Many studies have been conducted about the impact of energetic charged particles on the atmosphere during geomagnetically active times, while quiet time effects are poorly understood. We identified two energetic electron precipitation (EEP) events during the growth phase of moderate substorms and estimated the mesospheric ionization rate for an EEP event for which the most comprehensive dataset from ground-based and space-born instruments was available. The mesospheric ionization signature reached below 70 km altitude and continued for ~15 min until the substorm onset, as observed by the PANSY radar and imaging riometer at Syowa Station in the Antarctic region. We also used energetic electron flux observed by the Arase and POES 15 satellites as the input for the air-shower simulation code PHITS to quantitatively estimate the mesospheric ionization rate. The calculated ionization level due to the precipitating electrons is consistent with the observed value of cosmic noise absorption. The possible spatial extent of EEP is estimated to be ~8 h MLT in longitude and ~1.5° in latitude from a global magnetohydrodynamic simulation REPPU and the precipitating electron observations by the POES satellite, respectively. Such a significant duration and spatial extent of EEP events suggest a non-negligible contribution of the growth phase EEP to the mesospheric ionization. Combining the cutting-edge observations and simulations, we shed new light on the space weather impact of the EEP events during geomagnetically quiet times, which is important to understand the possible link between the space environment and climate.

We have obtained horizontal phase velocity distributions of the gravity waves around 90 km from four Antarctic airglow imagers, which belong to an international airglow imager/instrument network known as ANGWIN (Antarctic Gravity Wave Instrument Network). Results from the airglow imagers at Syowa (69°S, 40°E), Halley (76°S, 27°W), Davis (69°S, 78°E), and McMurdo (78°S, 167°E) were compared, using a new statistical analysis method based on 3-D Fourier transform (Matsuda et al., 2014) for the observation period between 7 April and 21 May 2013. Significant day-to-day and site-to-site differences were found. The averaged phase velocity spectrum during the observation period showed preferential westward direction at Syowa, McMurdo, and Halley, but no preferential direction at Davis. Gravity wave energy estimated by I'/I was ~5 times larger at Davis and Syowa than at McMurdo and Halley. We also compared the phase velocity spectrum at Syowa and Davis with the background wind field and found that the directionality only over Syowa could be explained by critical level filtering of the waves. This suggests that the eastward propagating gravity waves over Davis could have been generated above the polar night jet. Comparison of nighttime variations of the phase velocity spectra with background wind measurements suggested that the effect of critical level filtering could not explain the temporal variation of gravity wave directionality well, and other reasons such as variation of wave sources should be taken into account. Directionality was determined to be dependent on the gravity wave periods. ©2017. The Authors.

The potential energy of gravity waves (GWs) per unit mass (Ep), at altitudes of 15–70 km, has been examined from temperature profiles obtained by a Rayleigh/Raman (RR) lidar at Syowa Station (69°S, 40°E) from May 2011 to October 2013, with the exception of the summer months. The GWs with ground-based wave periods longer than 2 h and vertical wavelengths between 1.8 and 16 km were extracted from the temperature profiles. Ep was larger in winter than in spring and fall, although in 2012, at altitudes below 30 km, Ep was larger in spring than in winter and fall. Ep increased with a mean scale height of 11.3 km. Ep profiles showed a local maximum at an altitude of 20 km and a minimum at 25 km in almost every month, which has not been reported by previous studies observed by radiosondes. The values of Ep in October of 2012 were smaller at 35–60 km and larger at 20–35 km than those in October of 2011 and 2013. This difference in the Ep profile is most probably caused by different seasonal variations of zonal winds. The larger and smaller Ep values seem to be observed both below and above the altitude at which the zonal wind speed reached 0 m s-1. This result suggests that wind filtering of gravity waves with small phase speeds is significantly important in early spring.

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OS] Space and upper atmospheric sciences, Wed. 4 Dec. /Entrance Hall (1st floor) at National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR)

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OS] Space and upper atmospheric sciences, Wed. 4 Dec. / Institute of Statistics and Mathematics (ISM) Seminar room 2 (D304) (3rd floor)

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Special session: [S] Future plan of Antarctic research: Towards phase X of the Japanese Antarctic Research Project (2022-2028) and beyond, Tue. 3 Dec. / 2F Auditorium, National Institute of Polar Research

We retrieved lower stratospheric vertical profiles of O3, HNO3, and HCl from solar spectra taken with a ground-based Fourier-Transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) installed at Syowa Station, Antarctica (69.0° S, 39.6° E) from March to December 2007 and September to November 2011. This was the first continuous measurements of chlorine species throughout the ozone hole period from the ground in Antarctica. We analyzed temporal variation of these species combined with ClO, HCl, and HNO3 data taken with the Aura/MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder) satellite sensor, and ClONO2 data taken with the Envisat/MIPAS (The Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) satellite sensor at 18 and 22 km over Syowa Station. HCl and ClONO2 decrease occurred at both 18 and 22 km, and soon ClONO2 was almost depleted in early winter. When the sun returned to Antarctica in spring, enhancement of ClO and gradual O3 destruction were observed. During the ClO enhanced period, negative correlation between ClO and ClONO2 was observed in the time-series of the data at Syowa Station. This negative correlation was associated with the distance between Syowa Station and the inner edge of the polar vortex. We used MIROC3.2 Chemistry-Climate Model (CCM) results to see the comprehensive behavior of chlorine and related species inside the polar vortex and the edge region in more detail. From CCM model results, rapid conversion of chlorine reservoir species (HCl and ClONO2) into Cl2, gradual conversion of Cl2 into Cl2O2, increase of ClO when sunlight became available, and conversion of ClO into HCl, was successfully reproduced. HCl decrease in the winter polar vortex core continued to occur due to the transport of ClONO2 from the subpolar region to higher latitudes, providing a flux of ClONO2 from more sunlit latitudes into the polar vortex. Temporal variation of chlorine species over Syowa Station was affected by both heterogeneous chemistry related to Polar Stratospheric Cloud (PSC) occurrence deep inside the polar vortex, and transport of an NOx-rich airmass from lower latitudinal polar vortex boundary region which can produce additional ClONO2 by reaction of ClO with NO2. The deactivation pathways from active chlorine into reservoir species (HCl and/or ClONO2) were found to be highly dependent on the availability of ambient O3. At an altitude where most ozone was depleted in Antarctica (18 km), most ClO was converted to HCl. However, at an altitude where there were some O3 available (22 km), additional increase of ClONO2 from initial value can occur, similar to the case in the Arctic.

As a basic study of a practical method for predicting the sound insulation performance of windows, this report presents a study of the sound reduction index of windows with single glazing, below a critical frequency. First, the results calculated by an existing theory for a single plate for the sound reduction indices are compared with measured results of actual windows to assess the theory’s applicability for evaluating the sound insulation performance of windows. Then, a regression analysis is employed to measure the results of a certain number of actual windows to explore a further development of a more practical prediction. The following findings were obtained: (1) Sound reduction indices of actual fixed windows are predictable using Sewell’s transmission theory for a single plate. However, sound reduction indices of openable windows, especially those of sliding windows, are strongly affected by gaps in the window frame. Therefore, predicting sound reduction indices of all windows accurately is difficult if using only one theory. (2) The frequency slope of the window reduction index is much lower than that of the mass law. Regression analyses indicate that the frequency slope of the reduction index of all examined windows is 3.0 dB per octave, on average.

Recent evidence from both observations and model simulations suggests that an Arctic sea ice reduction tends to cause a negative Arctic Oscillation (AO) phase with severe winter weather in the Northern Hemisphere, which is often preceded by weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex. Although this evidence hints at a stratospheric involvement in the Arctic-midlatitude climate linkage, the exact role of the stratosphere remains elusive. Here we show that tropospheric AO response to the Arctic sea ice reduction largely disappears when suppressing the stratospheric wave mean flow interactions in numerical experiments. The results confirm a crucial role of the stratosphere in the sea ice impacts on the midlatitudes by coupling between the stratospheric polar vortex and planetary-scale waves. Those results and consistency with observation-based evidence suggest that a recent Arctic sea ice loss is linked to midlatitudes extreme weather events associated with the negative AO phase.

As described herein, the sound insulation performance of a double window with absorbent materials on the perimeter of its cavity is studied experimentally. Two experiments are used to measure the sound reduction indices. The first experiment was performed with a double window composed of commercially available products. The second was conducted with a model constructed of two acrylic panels: a simplified model of a double window with a cavity between the panes. As the result of the first experiment, the improvement in reduction index obtained by the attached absorbent was around 4 dB. In the second experiment, though some negative effect was observed at low frequencies, the increase in reduction index was about 12 dB at maximum. Consequently, the following findings were obtained: (1) Acoustic transmission characteristics of a double window are affected mainly by resonances of two types: mass-air-mass resonance of window panes and the air cavity, and the acoustic mode resonances of the air cavity in-between; (2) acoustic mode resonance is suppressed by attaching absorbent materials on the inside of the cavity of window. Consequently, the sound reduction index increases.

The Ninth Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions: [IW] Whole atmosphere, Thu. 6 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor), National Institute of Polar Research

The Ninth Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions: [IW] Whole atmosphere, Thu. 6 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor), National Institute of Polar Research

The Ninth Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions: [IW] Whole atmosphere, Thu. 6 Dec. / 3F Seminar room D304, Institute of Statistics and Mathematics

The Ninth Symposium on Polar Science/Interdisciplinary sessions: [IW] Whole atmosphere, Thu. 6 Dec. / 3F Seminar room D304, Institute of Statistics and Mathematics

Characteristics of the diurnal tide in the Antarctic mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) are investigated using 10 years of medium frequency (MF) radar data from Syowa Station (69° S, 39.6° E). Seasonal variations and height dependence of the diurnal amplitude and phase of zonal and meridional winds are mostly consistent with previous studies using the other Antarctic station data. The meridional momentum flux due to the diurnal tide shows a seasonal variation clearly different between above and below 90 km, which has never been reported in the literature. Finally, a cause of some discrepancy in the characteristics of the diurnal tide between the observation and simulation (i.e., GSWM-02) is discussed. It implies that the realistic representation of gravity waves in the simulation is crucial for realistic modeling of the diurnal tide.