Large-Scale Thermodynamics of the Stratosphere and Mesosphere during the Major Stratospheric Warming in 2003/2004

The stratosphere-mesosphere response to the major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) in the winter of 2003/2004 has been studied. The UKMO (UK Met. Office) data set was used to examine the features of the large-scale thermo-dynamic anomalies present in the stratosphere of the Northern Hemisphere. The vertical and latitudinal structure of the genuine anomalies, emphasized by removing the UKMO climatology, has been investigated as well. The features of the stratospheric anomalies have been related to the mesospheric ones in measured neutral winds from radars and temperatures from meteor radars (~90 km). It was found that the stratospheric warming spread to the lower mesosphere, while cooling occurred in the upper mesosphere, a feature which may be related to the large vertical scales of the stationary planetary waves (SPWs). It was shown also that the beginning of the eastward wind deceleration in the stratosphere/mesosphere system coincided with the maximum amplification of the SPW1 accompanied by short-lived bursts of waves 2 and 3.