Small-scale temperature perturbations in the middle atmosphere

Abstract

Temperature soundings of the middle atmosphere were acquired with the CORAL lidar at different stations at unprecedented resolutions down to 10 min and 900 m in the vertical. This allows to characterize the occurrence of small-scale perturbations with vertical wavelengths shorter than four kilometers. These are especially relevant for the energy and impulse budget of the middle atmosphere. We find that small-scale perturbations are most prominent in the upper mesosphere. We calculate potential energy densities of small-scale waves and compare with gravity wave potential energy densities. A selection of the most pronounced small-scale events is presented. Our goal is to identify atmospheric conditions leading to the generation of small-scale waves.