Solar-wind-driven geopotential height anomalies originate in the Antarctic lower troposphere

Lam, Mai Mai ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0274-6119; Chisham, Gareth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1151-5934; Freeman, Mervyn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8653-8279. 2014 Solar-wind-driven geopotential height anomalies originate in the Antarctic lower troposphere. Geophysical Research Letters, 41 (18). 6509-6514. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL061421

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Abstract/Summary

We use National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis data to estimate the altitude and time lag dependence of the correlation between the interplanetary magnetic field component, By, and the geopotential height anomaly above Antarctica. The correlation is most statistically significant within the troposphere. The peak in the correlation occurs at greater time lags at the tropopause (∼6–8 days) and in the midtroposphere (∼4 days) than in the lower troposphere (∼1 day). This supports a mechanism involving the action of the global atmospheric electric circuit, modified by variations in the solar wind, on lower tropospheric clouds. The increase in time lag with increasing altitude is consistent with the upward propagation by conventional atmospheric processes of the solar wind-induced variability in the lower troposphere. This is in contrast to the downward propagation of atmospheric effects to the lower troposphere from the stratosphere due to solar variability-driven mechanisms involving ultraviolet radiation or energetic particle precipitation.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL061421
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Climate
ISSN:	0094-8276
Additional Keywords:	solar variability, global atmospheric electric circuit, tropospheric clouds, polar meteorology, Mansurov effect, sun-weather connection
Date made live:	24 Sep 2014 11:24 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/507981

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL061421

Programmes:

BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Climate

ISSN:

0094-8276

Additional Keywords:

solar variability, global atmospheric electric circuit, tropospheric clouds, polar meteorology, Mansurov effect, sun-weather connection

Date made live:

24 Sep 2014 11:24 +0 (UTC)