Dawkins ECM, Plane JMC, Chipperfield MP, Feng W, Marsh DR, Höffner J, Janches D. Solar cycle response and long-term trends in the mesospheric metal layers.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. SPACE PHYSICS 2016;
121:7153-7165. [PMID:
31404353 PMCID:
PMC6680104 DOI:
10.1002/2016ja022522]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2016] [Revised: 07/05/2016] [Accepted: 07/07/2016] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The meteoric metal layers (Na, Fe, and K)-which form as a result of the ablation of incoming meteors-act as unique tracers for chemical and dynamical processes that occur within the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere region. In this work, we examine whether these metal layers are sensitive indicators of decadal long-term changes within the upper atmosphere. Output from a whole-atmosphere climate model is used to assess the response of the Na, K, and Fe layers across a 50 year period (1955-2005). At short timescales, the K layer has previously been shown to exhibit a very different seasonal behavior compared to the other metals. Here we show that this unusual behavior is also exhibited at longer timescales (both the ~11 year solar cycle and 50 year periods), where K displays a much more pronounced response to atmospheric temperature changes than either Na or Fe. The contrasting solar cycle behavior of the K and Na layers predicted by the model is confirmed using satellite and lidar observations for the period 2004-2013.
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