ACPD Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ACPD 1680-7375 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/acpd-9-23051-2009 Study on the impact of sudden stratosphere warming in the upper mesosphere-lower thermosphere regions using satellite and HF radar measurements Mbatha N. 1 2 Sivakumar V. 3 4 5 Malinga S. B. 2 Bencherif H. 5 Pillay S. R. 1 School of Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South Africa Hermanus Magnetic Observatory, P.O. Box 32, Hermanus 7200, South Africa National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Lynwood Road, Pretoria 0002, South Africa Laboratoire de l'Atmosphère et des Cyclones, UMR 8105 CNRS, Université de La Réunion, 97715 Saint-Denis, Cedex 9, La Réunion, France 02 11 2009 9 6 23051 23072 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/23051/2009/acpd-9-23051-2009.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/23051/2009/acpd-9-23051-2009.pdf

The occurrence of sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) excites disturbances in the mesosphere-lower thermospheric (MLT) wind and temperature. Here, we have examined the high frequency (HF) radar wind data from the South African National Antarctic Expedition, SANAE (72° S, 3° W), a radar which is part of the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN). Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) on board the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite temperature data and National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) temperature and wind data were use to investigate the dynamical effects of the unprecedented September 2002 SSW in the Antarctica stratosphere and MLT. The mean zonal wind (from SANAE HF radar) at the MLT shows reversal in approximately 7 days before the reversal at 10 hPa (from NCEP). This indicates that there was a downwards propagation of circulation disturbance. Westerly zonal winds dominate the winter MLT, but during the 2002 winter there were many periods of westward winds observed compared to other years. The dynamic spectrums of both meridional and zonal winds show presence of planetary waves (of ~14-day period) before the occurrence of the SSW. The SABER vertical temperature profiles indicated the cooling of the MLT region before the SSW event.

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