Journal Article

Quantifying Polar Mesospheric Clouds Thermal Impact on Mesopause

Didenko, Kseniia, Sokolov, Arseniy, Kravtsova, Karina, Ermakova, Tatiana, Savenkova, Elena, Koval, Andrey, Gavrilov, Nikolai

2025

Overview

The article is focused on the quantitative assessment of the thermal impact of polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) on the mesopause caused by the emission of absorbed solar and terrestrial infrared (IR) radiation by cloud particles. For this purpose, a parameterization of mesopause heating by PMC crystals has been developed, the main feature of which is to incorporate the thermal properties of ice and the interaction of cloud particles with the environment. Parametrization is based on PMCs zero-dimensional (0-D) model and uses temperature, pressure, and water vapor data in the 80–90 km altitude range retrieved from Solar Occultation for Ice Experiment (SOFIE) measurements. The calculations are made for 14 PMC seasons in both hemispheres with the summer solstice as the central date. The obtained results show that PMCs can make a significant contribution to the heat balance of the upper atmosphere, comparable to the heating caused, for example, by the dissipation of atmospheric gravity waves (GWs). The interhemispheric differences in heating are manifested mainly in the altitude structure: in the Southern Hemisphere (SH), the area of maximum heating values is 1–2 km higher than in the Northern Hemisphere (NH), while quantitatively they are of the same order. The most intensive heating is observed at the lower boundary of the minimum temperature layer (below 150 K) and gradually weakens with altitude. The NH heating median value is 5.86 K/day, while in the SH it is 5.24 K/day. The lowest values of heating are located above the maximum of cloud ice concentration in both hemispheres. The calculated heating rates are also examined in the context of the various factors of temperature variation in the observed atmospheric layers. It is shown in particular that the thermal impact of PMC is commensurate with the influence of dissipating gravity waves at heights of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), which parameterizations are included in all modern numerical models of atmospheric circulation. Hence, the developed parameterization can be used in global atmospheric circulation models for further study of the peculiarities of the thermodynamic regime of the MLT.

• Publisher: MDPI AG
• Subject: Altitude / Atmosphere / Atmospheric circulation / Atmospheric circulation models / Atmospheric gravity waves / Cerebral hemispheres / Cloud particles / Clouds / Crystals / Dissipation / Earth / Environmental impact / Gravity waves / Heat / Heat balance / Heating / Infrared radiation / Lower mantle / Lower thermosphere / Mathematical models / Measurement / Mesopause / Mesosphere / Minimum temperatures / Noctilucent clouds / Northern Hemisphere / Numerical models / Parameterization / Polar mesospheric clouds / Radiation / radiation fluxes / Radiation-cloud interactions / remote sensing / Seasonal variations / Solar occultation / Southern Hemisphere / Summer / Temperature / Temperature variations / thermal impact / Thermal properties / Thermodynamic properties / Thermosphere / Upper atmosphere / Water / Water vapor / Water vapour