Acoustic grenade experiments to monitor transition in thermal structure of mesospher

Smith, W. S.

Theon, J. S.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

General Disclaimer 
One or more of the Following Statements may affect this Document 
 
 This document has been reproduced from the best copy furnished by the 
organizational source. It is being released in the interest of making available as 
much information as possible. 
 
 This document may contain data, which exceeds the sheet parameters. It was 
furnished in this condition by the organizational source and is the best copy 
available. 
 
 This document may contain tone-on-tone or color graphs, charts and/or pictures, 
which have been reproduced in black and white. 
 
 This document is paginated as submitted by the original source. 
 
 Portions of this document are not fully legible due to the historical nature of some 
of the material. However, it is the best reproduction available from the original 
submission. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Produced by the NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI) 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19690031067 2020-03-23T20:02:56+00:00Z
X-621-69-393 
PREPRINT 
07fJ2.. 
SEASONAL TRANSITIONS 
. IN THE THERMAL STRUCTURE ' 
OF THE MESOSPHERE AT HIGH LATITUDES 
I 
J. S. THEON 
W. ,S. SMITH 
SEPTEMBER 1969 
~- GODDARD SPAC( FLIGHT CENJER ~------
.. GREENBELT, MARYLAND 
X-621-69-393 
PREPRINT 
SEASONAL lRANSITIONS IN THE THERMAL STRUCTURE 
OF THE MESOSPHERE AT HIGH LATITUDES 
J. S. Theon 
W. S. Smith 
September 1969 
GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER 
Greenbelt, Maryland 
~ :-
EC!: ~, G PAGE BLANK NOT FlLMF 
ANAL TRA ITI S IN TH Til MAL STR T R 
F TH M H . AT III II LA TITUD . 
J. . Th on and W. S. mith 
oddard Spac Fli ht nt r nb lt, Maryland 20771 
A TRA T 
xp riments \ r ondu t d durin th p riod S 
tember 1868 - bruary 19 9, fr m Barrow, Alaska (71N). Th m ~asur -
m nts wer int nded to m nitor the trans ition in the th rmal stl'uctur of the 
mesosphere from the persist nt summertim cas to the dynamic and highly 
variable wintertime case. The disturbed featur s typical of wint r appear d in 
Cle high mesosphere in September, and at succ ssively lower altitudes until De-
cember, t which time the full winter structure had been establish d. In early 
January, a warming at the stratopause began a chain of e ents which ev ntually 
would restore the summertime structure and thus complete the cycle . 
iii 
.. • 
Bl.A K T 
T 
A T 
1. InLr du ti n 
2 . Th 
R 
F 
Figur 
1 
2 
3 
4 
T ble 
1 
Dis u ion 
I T TI NS 
ra ' t mp r tu profil 
olid i th 
sundin s, 
s unding conduct 5- 7. 
surr un ing ach curv r pr nt th 
tur includ d in th a v rag . 
rro ,Ala 1 
wint r 
r s -hatch d J.r a 
t tal rang of temp ra-
.1 h indi idual t mp rature pr fil btain d from 
arrow f r the tran iti n tudy. 
Th ltitud of a h laps rat sign r v r al ( xc pt the 
normal stratopau and m opaus r r sal) during th 
tran iti n period. .... . . . . . . . . 
Tim cross-s ction f th t mp rature structur between 35 
and 95 km over BarrO\ during the tran iti n p riod. The 
upper dotted lin is th m paus and th 1m: er dott d line, 
th trat pause . Isoth rm are in 0 K. .... .. . . . 
TABLE 
Dat and time of th acou tic grenade oundings conducted 
at Barrm for thi study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. ""-
a 
iii 
1 
1 
2 
P a e 
9 
10 
11 
12 
Page 
7 
1. Intro u ti n 
nt r ha p rf rm r 
Th sobs r ati n ha 
un ram f th rd pac light 
o th m h r sinc 19 
d g n ral limatol y f th cir ulation and 
temp r ature tructur f th m sosph r at it r n in from the tr pics to th 
arctic (Nordb rg, tal., 1965' C E 1 6) . In th ast, a la g fracti n of 
th sundin c nduct d at high latitu sit "re rna during ith r th sum-
mer or wint r r 'im ons qu ntl ,th natur of the tr nsition b tw en th 
extr In s f s ason had not b 11 obs rv d in d tail. arrow, Ala ka (71 ), was 
the logical location from hich to onduct s ries of oundin s to obser this 
transition b cau e the asonal ifferenc s b tw en summ rand wint r are most 
pronounced th re. ot only was the summ r to winter changeov robs r ed, but 
also the initial stages of the r v rse pro ess, nam ly, the wint r to summer 
trans ition. 
2. The Experiment 
Twelv acousti grenade soundings (see Nordberg and Smith, 1964) were 
conduct d from Barrow during the period September 17 1968 to February 4, 1969. 
Initially, plans call d for one pair of soundings s parated b two hours once each 
month. Th purpose of conducting pairs of soundings only two hours apart was 
to obtain information concerning the short term temperature ariability in the 
meso phere. It was recognized that such limited information would not permit 
th complet resolution of seasonal and short term effects, but the data were 
1 
us ful a n indi at ion of th pr n f i nifi ant h rt t rm t m r t r 
hang s. As n bs n fr m th I i in ' in T bi 1, r t i nal on-
id r ation di n t p rmit th ori inal ch ul t b m intain 
3 . 1I t ussion 
Th iff renc s in as onal a ra s 0 th m 0 ph ric t mp ratur tru-
ture at Barrow ar illustrated by Fi ur 1. Th olid a r ag 
of ten summer pr fil s, and th ur , th a r a f t v el \ int r pro-
files obser d at arrow during the y ars 19 5-67 (Smith t al. 1967 , 1 
1969). The cross hatched ar a urrounding ach a r ag profi l r pr s nt the 
total rang of t mperatures includ d in th a rag. Th av rag temp r atur 
of the summ r s tratopause was 280 K, whil th av r ag t mper atur th win-
ter stratopaus was only 240 K. Th average t mperatur of th summ r meso-
pause, 142 K, is approximately 80 K cold r than th a erage t mp r ature of th 
winter mesopaus . The resulting av rag m sosph ric laps r at w r -3. 2 Y 
km- 1 for summer and 0.5 K km-1 for winter. Although the a erag J profil for 
the summer mesosphere is quite representative of the ten individual profil s 
from which it was derived, the average winter profile does not resemble th 
twel e individual profiles from which it was deri ed b cause of what appear to 
be superimposed wave-like features in them. The variability of temperatur 
with time is quite small in summer, amounting to about ±5 K at any given alti-
tude in the mesosphere 0 er tt e course of the entire summer. In the winter, 
however, t~mperature changes of 30-40 K hr-1 are common at 80 km (Theon, 
2 
-. 
19 In n n f ih 
r 1 v . th r 
n umm' un In Jun t i in Iud 
ph r in 
Th h \Va 
\ a a urn d to of thi 
had n r th in r 'j m 
In r r rna i 
pr cti 
p 
turbanc 
giv n in igur 2, th 
t mb r, nd at uc 
ti n f th 
andm 
an b 
fe tur a p ar 
ly I w r altitu 
iructur 
atur . in th t m 
n in i ati n th t th un rn r girn 
- lik L tu' in h t mp r ur 
rsal ( 
con i er to vid n of 
hindi idual temp ratur 
t in th hi h m ospher in p-
hr u h ut the r mind r th 
transition riod. Th al itud s wh r th laps rat r r al 0 'urr d w r 
plott d as a function dat pt m r-F bruary p rio ,a hown 
in Figure 0. ot that \i h n th low st altitud s wh r the \ a \ r 
for the first eight oundings ar conn ct d a 'radually d sc n ing n lop r -
suIts. Th rat of d sc nt is approximatel 15 km month -1 initially, but 9 km 
month-1 wh n a raged 0 er th entLre p riod ho' n. A minor stratosph ric 
warming alt r d this p tt rn by the 19th of JailUary. The \ arming, \i hich began 
in early J nuary at approximat ,ly 60 kIn, r ach d th 50 km I vel by mid January 
wh r it ith r m sk d or pr ented the formation of th a e-like tru tur . 
Thi ph nom non mark d th be inning of th pr s by which th wint r re-
gim br ak dO\ n and i ntually repla ed by the stable structure of summer 
(s e Theon, et al. , 1967). 
3 
• 
,0 
h \ armin nt in ur tim ro th 
t mp w. \/h r (> 1 '" i r pr il \ r d on 
a sin r m o 
that nly \ 11 d fin d tain do t that Lh impl 
and w r d umm r th rmal s tru tur pr nt in pt m r whi h is 
hara d by larg I t mp ratur gr (\ arm 
m sopau ) an mall t mp ratur han s \ ith tim ) a 
tru tur given ltitud i gradually r plac d by th typical wint r th 
Th wint r tructure is, in turn, alt red by th w rmi 's at th th b-
ser d p rio y arly D mb r, the str topau had cool d y about 2 
and tl. ne opause had war ed by 3 - 0 K. Rapid h ng s in thi regi n b gan 
t occ.ur in late D cemb r, and by the 11th of J nuary, the warming ha spread 
both upward to 7 km and d wnw r to 5 1m. ooling had s t in at 7 km y late 
January, and a second warm c nter occurr n ar a km. It cannot b ascer-
tained fr m th data availaLI wh ther th second warm enter wa n in p nd nt 
event or m rely a lower extension of the first warming . This s ond warming, 
though not in th explosi e category, did account for a temperature incr ase of 
almost 70 K at 43 km during a 15 ay period. 
Examination of the wind profIles which resulted from the tw s undings 
indicates that in the region d scribed as disturbed in Figure 3, th r was con-
siderably more wind ariabilit) b th in the vertical and time coordinates. In th 
undisturbed r oion, th winds w r more uniformly w sterly. In oth r words, 
4 
tur in . tu ~ pr til \ I r 1111 ill d lar ' 
r . n a 1'l i1" ia i I umm r, th int i-
5 
an 
-------, 
] Dti : T mp ratur , pr ur nit , a .... rl. \ in m a ur m nt in th 
trat ph rand m s ph r, 9 A A T ch . R prt. T R-2 8, 94 pp. 
J. ' . a y, an J. J . I rv th, 
1969: T mp ratur , pr u nsity, and v in m sur m nt in th 
str to ph r nd me , 19 7. A AT h. pt. TR R- 1 , 8 5 pp. 
Theon, J. ., 1968: ho rm t mp ratur ari ti n in th atmo ph r b -
low 12 km. r c. 3r A rosp c M teor. w rIc n 
May 6-9, 19 8. (AMS public ti 11) 
W. ordb r atch n and J. J. Hor th 1 7: om 
obs rations on th th rmal havior of the m s ph r . J. Atmo i. , 
24 42 -43 . 
6 
.. 
Tabl 1 
D t and tim f th a u ti oun in s 
d at arr w r hi' study 
17 S 
14 
]4 
22 
22 
ml ' 19 8 
ber 1 
ber 19 
r 1 8 
mb 19 8 
13 De em r 19 8 
13 D . m r 1 6 
11 Janu r y 1 
19 January 19 9 
26 Januar 9 
31 January 19 9 
4 bruary 19b 
7 
im ( T) 
2 
lHO 
03 0 
nO'1 
755 
0459 
o 59 
1 15 
0200 
0500 
0700 
2230 
100~------------------------------------------------~ 
UJ 
o 
~ 
l-
I-
90 
80 
;£ 60 
50 
40 
............ 
............. 
...... ... 
............ 
........... ... 
.............. ... 
................... 
.. .. .... ;g~ggg;::::: .. 
.... : ~ ;;; ~; ~;;~; ;~ ;; ;; ;;: 
:::::::::: ::::::::::::: 
::::::::::::::::::: ::: 
::::::::::::::::::::. 
:::::::::::::::::::: 
....................... 
, ,, "~IP- '!!: ::::::::: : : ::::: ::: :: : : • • 
....... ... .. ............... 
.... .. .. ....... .............. 
::::::::::::::::::::::::: ... 
llmmmm~;:::: 
.............. ..... ... .... 
......... .... ... ..... ..... . 
........... ... .. ..... ... ... . 
,,,,, ~..-: :::: :ggg~;~~g;;gg;; g;gg: . 
....... .. .. .......... ........ . 
.... ~r ··· ··l·l .. l"llllllm;:;g:::::::: : ... .. 
30~--~---L----~--~ __ ~ __ ~~ __ ~ __ ~ __ ~ ____ ~ __ ~ 
120 160 200 240 280 
TEMPERATURE ( oK) 
Figure 1. Seasonal average temperature profi les above Barrow, Alaska (71 N). The 
solid curve is the average of ten summer soundings, and the broken curve the aver-
age of twelve winter soundings conducted during 1965-67 . The cross hatched areas 
surrounding each curve represent the total range of temperatures included in the 
average. 
9 
I-
' 
o
 
~ ~ ~ w 0 ::::> ~ ~ ~ <{ 
10
0 
.,
 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
,
 
80
 
t:L
 
20
03
Z 
17
 S
EP
 
40
1-
-
-
_
 
..
..
. 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
..
..
 -
"
.
 
"
.
 
_
O
l0
0
Z
 1
4 
OC
T 
_
 
.
.
.
.
 
03
00
 Z
 
.:::
:' .. -"
-
..
 
_
0
0
3
1
 Z
 2
2 
N
O
V
 
.
.
.
.
.
 
07
55
 Z
 
-
_
::
::
::
:1.
 
..
..
..
..
..
 
_
 
04
59
Z 
13
 D
EC
 
.
.
.
.
.
 
06
59
Z 
16
0 
18
0 
20
0 
22
0 
24
0 
26
0 
16
0 
18
0 
20
0 
22
0 
24
0 
26
0 
16
0 
18
0 
20
0 
22
0 
24
0 
26
0 
16
0 
~ ~ w o ::::> 
TE
M
PE
RA
TU
RE
 (
oK
) 
10
0 
.
-
-
,
 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
,
 
80
 
-
.
::
::
--
--
=
 60
 
~
 
~
 
<
{ 
40
 18
0 
20
0 
22
0 
24
0 
26
0 
28
0 
TE
M
PE
RA
TU
RE
 (
oK
) 
Fi
gu
re
 2
. 
T
he
 t
w
el
ve
 i
nd
iv
id
ua
l 
.
_
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
..
 --~:
:::
--.. 
':
 .... ., ·
 
·
 
·
 
·
 
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
 ,
 
.
 
_
 
05
00
Z 
26
 J
A
N
 ..
.
.
 
_
 
.
.
.
.
 
07
00
 Z
 3
1 
JA
N
 
.
 
.
-
' 
/' .
.
.
.
 
16
0 
18
0 
20
0 
22
0 
24
0 
26
0 
22
30
 Z
 4
 F
EB
 
18
0 
20
0 
22
0 
24
0 
26
0 
28
0 
te
m
pe
ra
tu
re
 p
ro
fi
le
s 
o
bt
ai
ne
d 
fr
om
 B
ar
ro
w
 f
or
 t
he
 t
ra
n
si
ti
on
 s
tu
dy
. 
26
0 
f-
' 
.
.
.
.
.
.
 
9O
r-
x 
~ 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
80
 l
-
X
 
X 
X
 
X X
 
X 
-
- ~ 
~ 
X 
~ 
70
 
w
 Q 
X
 
::::
:> I-
-
I-
-
.
.
.
.
.
J 
<
{ 
X
 
60
1 
~
 
50
 
~
'
 
r 
10
 
20
 
30
 
10
 
20
 
30
 
SE
P 
O
CT
 
10
 
20
 
N
O
V
 
DA
TE
 3
0 
10
 
20
 
30
 
10
 
D
EC
 
x x X
 
20
 
JA
N
 
Xx
 
x 
x 
x X X
 
X
 
X
 
X 
30
 
10
 
FE
B 
Fi
gu
re
 3
.
 
Th
e 
a
lt
it
ud
e 
o
f 
e
a
c
h 
la
ps
e 
ra
te
 s
ig
n 
re
v
e
rs
a
l 
(e
xc
ep
t t
he
 n
o
rm
a
l 
st
ra
to
pa
us
e 
a
n
d 
m
e
so
pa
us
e 
re
v
e
rs
a
ls
) 
du
ri
ng
 t
he
 t
ra
ns
iti
on
 p
er
io
d.
 
»
 
V
) 
»
 I C'
) 
V
) 
.
"
 
("
') 
f-
' 
I:\
:) 
I 
90
 .
-
80
~
 
~
 :
0
·
 
~
 
U
J 0 ::>
 
~
 
~
 
-
l
 
<1:
 
60
 r I 
50
 
40
 
18
0 
"
' 
18
0-
-
-
-
26
0 24
0 1
0 
20
 
SE
P 
19
0 
- '"
 
.
/
 
30
 
20
0 
21
02
20
 
"
"
 
"
 
""
 
-
-
7-
· J
. 
10
 
20
 
O
CT
 
,
 
•
 
•
 
•
 
•
 •
 •
 
30
 
10
 
22
0 
.
 
I 
I 
•
 
•
 
.
 
C
· 
•
 
_
_
 
21
0 
20
 
N
O
V
 
DA
TE
 30
 
10
 
21
0 
20
 
DE
C 
30
 
10
 
20
 
JA
N
 
30
 (
W~ 10 
20
 
FE
B 
Fi
gu
re
 4
. 
Ti
m
e 
c
ro
ss
-s
e
c
ti
on
 o
f 
th
e 
te
m
pe
ra
tu
re
 s
tl 
Jc
tu
re
 b
et
w
ee
n 
35
 a
n
d 
95
 km
 o
v
e
r 
B
ar
ro
w
 d
ur
in
g 
th
e 
tr
an
-
si
tio
n 
pe
ri
od
. 
Th
e 
u
pp
er
 d
ot
te
d 
lin
e 
is
 t
he
 m
e
so
pa
us
e 
a
n
d 
th
e 
lo
w
er
 d
ot
te
d 
li
ne
, 
th
e 
st
ra
to
pa
us
e.
 
Is
ot
he
rm
s 
a
re
 
in
 o
K
. 


Seasonal transitions in the thermal structure of the mesosphere at high latitudes

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NASA Technical Reports Server