Solar Cycle and Long-Term Trends in the Observed Peak of the Meteor Altitude Distributions by Meteor Radars

E. C.M. Dawkins; G. Stober; D. Janches; J. D. Carrillo-Sánchez; R. S. Lieberman; C. Jacobi; T. Moffat-Griffin; N. J. Mitchell; N. Cobbett; P. P. Batista; V. F. Andrioli; R. A. Buriti; D. J. Murphy; J. Kero; N. Gulbrandsen; M. Tsutsumi; A. Kozlovsky; J. H. Kim; C. Lee; M. Lester

doi:10.1029/2022GL101953

Solar Cycle and Long-Term Trends in the Observed Peak of the Meteor Altitude Distributions by Meteor Radars

E. C.M. Dawkins, G. Stober, D. Janches, J. D. Carrillo-Sánchez, R. S. Lieberman, C. Jacobi, T. Moffat-Griffin, N. J. Mitchell, N. Cobbett, P. P. Batista, V. F. Andrioli, R. A. Buriti, D. J. Murphy, J. Kero, N. Gulbrandsen, M. Tsutsumi, A. Kozlovsky, J. H. Kim, C. Lee, M. Lester

Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

The mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT, 80–100 km) region is an important boundary between Earth's atmosphere below and space above and may act as a sensitive indicator for anthropogenic climate change. Existing observational and modeling studies have shown the middle atmosphere and the MLT is cooling and contracting because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. However, trend analyses are highly sensitive to the time periods covered, their length, and the measurement type and methodology used. We present for the first time the linear and 11-year solar cycle responses in the meteor ablation altitude distributions observed by 12 meteor radars at different locations. Decreasing altitudes were seen at all latitudes (linear trends varying from −10.97 to −817.95 m dec⁻¹), and a positive correlation with solar activity was seen for most locations. The divergence of responses at high latitudes indicates an important and complex interplay between atmospheric changes and dynamics at varying time scales.

Original language	English
Article number	e2022GL101953
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	50
Issue number	2
Early online date	25 Jan 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101953
Publication status	Published - 28 Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
ED, DJ, JDCS, and RSL are supported through the NASA ISFM programs for Heliophysics. GS is a member of the Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research. J‐HK and CL were supported by a Korea Polar Research Institute Grant (KOPRI PE22020) from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. CJ acknowledges support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Grant JA836/43‐1. ML acknowledges support from UK Science and Technology Facilities Council Grant ST/W00089X/1. TdF operation is supported by NESC assessment TI‐17‐01204. ROT and KEP radars were funded through UK Natural Environment Research Council Grants NE/R001391 and NE/R001235/1. CPa, SMa and CAR meteor radars were funded through São Paulo State Research Support Foundation and Brazilian National Research Conseil. DAV operation was supported by Australian Antarctic Science projects 2668, 4025, and 4445. Operation of KIR is provided by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) Esrange Space Center.

Data Availability Statement
The processed data comprising Figures 2 and 3 (and those listed in Table S2 in Supporting Information S1) are made available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7374405.

Funding

ED, DJ, JDCS, and RSL are supported through the NASA ISFM programs for Heliophysics. GS is a member of the Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research. J‐HK and CL were supported by a Korea Polar Research Institute Grant (KOPRI PE22020) from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. CJ acknowledges support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Grant JA836/43‐1. ML acknowledges support from UK Science and Technology Facilities Council Grant ST/W00089X/1. TdF operation is supported by NESC assessment TI‐17‐01204. ROT and KEP radars were funded through UK Natural Environment Research Council Grants NE/R001391 and NE/R001235/1. CPa, SMa and CAR meteor radars were funded through São Paulo State Research Support Foundation and Brazilian National Research Conseil. DAV operation was supported by Australian Antarctic Science projects 2668, 4025, and 4445. Operation of KIR is provided by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) Esrange Space Center. ED, DJ, JDCS, and RSL are supported through the NASA ISFM programs for Heliophysics. GS is a member of the Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research. J-HK and CL were supported by a Korea Polar Research Institute Grant (KOPRI PE22020) from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. CJ acknowledges support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Grant JA836/43-1. ML acknowledges support from UK Science and Technology Facilities Council Grant ST/W00089X/1. TdF operation is supported by NESC assessment TI-17-01204. ROT and KEP radars were funded through UK Natural Environment Research Council Grants NE/R001391 and NE/R001235/1. CPa, SMa and CAR meteor radars were funded through São Paulo State Research Support Foundation and Brazilian National Research Conseil. DAV operation was supported by Australian Antarctic Science projects 2668, 4025, and 4445. Operation of KIR is provided by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) Esrange Space Center.

Keywords

altitude
climate change
mesopause
mesosphere
meteor
meteor radar

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geophysics
General Earth and Planetary Sciences

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1029/2022GL101953Licence: CC BY

Cite this

Dawkins, E. C. M., Stober, G., Janches, D., Carrillo-Sánchez, J. D., Lieberman, R. S., Jacobi, C., Moffat-Griffin, T., Mitchell, N. J., Cobbett, N., Batista, P. P., Andrioli, V. F., Buriti, R. A., Murphy, D. J., Kero, J., Gulbrandsen, N., Tsutsumi, M., Kozlovsky, A., Kim, J. H., Lee, C., & Lester, M. (2023). Solar Cycle and Long-Term Trends in the Observed Peak of the Meteor Altitude Distributions by Meteor Radars. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(2), Article e2022GL101953. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101953

Dawkins, ECM, Stober, G, Janches, D, Carrillo-Sánchez, JD, Lieberman, RS, Jacobi, C, Moffat-Griffin, T, Mitchell, NJ, Cobbett, N, Batista, PP, Andrioli, VF, Buriti, RA, Murphy, DJ, Kero, J, Gulbrandsen, N, Tsutsumi, M, Kozlovsky, A, Kim, JH, Lee, C & Lester, M 2023, 'Solar Cycle and Long-Term Trends in the Observed Peak of the Meteor Altitude Distributions by Meteor Radars', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 50, no. 2, e2022GL101953. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101953

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abstract = "The mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT, 80–100 km) region is an important boundary between Earth's atmosphere below and space above and may act as a sensitive indicator for anthropogenic climate change. Existing observational and modeling studies have shown the middle atmosphere and the MLT is cooling and contracting because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. However, trend analyses are highly sensitive to the time periods covered, their length, and the measurement type and methodology used. We present for the first time the linear and 11-year solar cycle responses in the meteor ablation altitude distributions observed by 12 meteor radars at different locations. Decreasing altitudes were seen at all latitudes (linear trends varying from −10.97 to −817.95 m dec−1), and a positive correlation with solar activity was seen for most locations. The divergence of responses at high latitudes indicates an important and complex interplay between atmospheric changes and dynamics at varying time scales.",

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author = "Dawkins, {E. C.M.} and G. Stober and D. Janches and Carrillo-S{\'a}nchez, {J. D.} and Lieberman, {R. S.} and C. Jacobi and T. Moffat-Griffin and Mitchell, {N. J.} and N. Cobbett and Batista, {P. P.} and Andrioli, {V. F.} and Buriti, {R. A.} and Murphy, {D. J.} and J. Kero and N. Gulbrandsen and M. Tsutsumi and A. Kozlovsky and Kim, {J. H.} and C. Lee and M. Lester",

note = "Funding Information: ED, DJ, JDCS, and RSL are supported through the NASA ISFM programs for Heliophysics. GS is a member of the Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research. J‐HK and CL were supported by a Korea Polar Research Institute Grant (KOPRI PE22020) from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. CJ acknowledges support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Grant JA836/43‐1. ML acknowledges support from UK Science and Technology Facilities Council Grant ST/W00089X/1. TdF operation is supported by NESC assessment TI‐17‐01204. ROT and KEP radars were funded through UK Natural Environment Research Council Grants NE/R001391 and NE/R001235/1. CPa, SMa and CAR meteor radars were funded through S{\~a}o Paulo State Research Support Foundation and Brazilian National Research Conseil. DAV operation was supported by Australian Antarctic Science projects 2668, 4025, and 4445. Operation of KIR is provided by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) Esrange Space Center. Data Availability Statement The processed data comprising Figures 2 and 3 (and those listed in Table S2 in Supporting Information S1) are made available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7374405. ",

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AU - Dawkins, E. C.M.

AU - Stober, G.

AU - Janches, D.

AU - Carrillo-Sánchez, J. D.

AU - Lieberman, R. S.

AU - Jacobi, C.

AU - Moffat-Griffin, T.

AU - Mitchell, N. J.

AU - Cobbett, N.

AU - Batista, P. P.

AU - Andrioli, V. F.

AU - Buriti, R. A.

AU - Murphy, D. J.

AU - Kero, J.

AU - Gulbrandsen, N.

AU - Tsutsumi, M.

AU - Kozlovsky, A.

AU - Kim, J. H.

AU - Lee, C.

AU - Lester, M.

N1 - Funding Information: ED, DJ, JDCS, and RSL are supported through the NASA ISFM programs for Heliophysics. GS is a member of the Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research. J‐HK and CL were supported by a Korea Polar Research Institute Grant (KOPRI PE22020) from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. CJ acknowledges support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Grant JA836/43‐1. ML acknowledges support from UK Science and Technology Facilities Council Grant ST/W00089X/1. TdF operation is supported by NESC assessment TI‐17‐01204. ROT and KEP radars were funded through UK Natural Environment Research Council Grants NE/R001391 and NE/R001235/1. CPa, SMa and CAR meteor radars were funded through São Paulo State Research Support Foundation and Brazilian National Research Conseil. DAV operation was supported by Australian Antarctic Science projects 2668, 4025, and 4445. Operation of KIR is provided by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) Esrange Space Center. Data Availability Statement The processed data comprising Figures 2 and 3 (and those listed in Table S2 in Supporting Information S1) are made available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7374405.

PY - 2023/1/28

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N2 - The mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT, 80–100 km) region is an important boundary between Earth's atmosphere below and space above and may act as a sensitive indicator for anthropogenic climate change. Existing observational and modeling studies have shown the middle atmosphere and the MLT is cooling and contracting because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. However, trend analyses are highly sensitive to the time periods covered, their length, and the measurement type and methodology used. We present for the first time the linear and 11-year solar cycle responses in the meteor ablation altitude distributions observed by 12 meteor radars at different locations. Decreasing altitudes were seen at all latitudes (linear trends varying from −10.97 to −817.95 m dec−1), and a positive correlation with solar activity was seen for most locations. The divergence of responses at high latitudes indicates an important and complex interplay between atmospheric changes and dynamics at varying time scales.

AB - The mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT, 80–100 km) region is an important boundary between Earth's atmosphere below and space above and may act as a sensitive indicator for anthropogenic climate change. Existing observational and modeling studies have shown the middle atmosphere and the MLT is cooling and contracting because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. However, trend analyses are highly sensitive to the time periods covered, their length, and the measurement type and methodology used. We present for the first time the linear and 11-year solar cycle responses in the meteor ablation altitude distributions observed by 12 meteor radars at different locations. Decreasing altitudes were seen at all latitudes (linear trends varying from −10.97 to −817.95 m dec−1), and a positive correlation with solar activity was seen for most locations. The divergence of responses at high latitudes indicates an important and complex interplay between atmospheric changes and dynamics at varying time scales.

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JO - Geophysical Research Letters

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Solar Cycle and Long-Term Trends in the Observed Peak of the Meteor Altitude Distributions by Meteor Radars

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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