The interplanetary magnetic field influences mid-latitude surface atmospheric pressure

Lam, Mai Mai ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0274-6119; Chisham, Gareth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1151-5934; Freeman, Mervyn P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8653-8279. 2013 The interplanetary magnetic field influences mid-latitude surface atmospheric pressure. Environmental Research Letters, 8 (4). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045001

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Abstract/Summary

The existence of a meteorological response in the polar regions to fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) component By is well established. More controversially, there is evidence to suggest that this Sun–weather coupling occurs via the global atmospheric electric circuit. Consequently, it has been assumed that the effect is maximized at high latitudes and is negligible at low and mid-latitudes, because the perturbation by the IMF is concentrated in the polar regions. We demonstrate a previously unrecognized influence of the IMF By on mid-latitude surface pressure. The difference between the mean surface pressures during times of high positive and high negative IMF By possesses a statistically significant mid-latitude wave structure similar to atmospheric Rossby waves. Our results show that a mechanism that is known to produce atmospheric responses to the IMF in the polar regions is also able to modulate pre-existing weather patterns at mid-latitudes. We suggest the mechanism for this from conventional meteorology. The amplitude of the effect is comparable to typical initial analysis uncertainties in ensemble numerical weather prediction. Thus, a relatively localized small-amplitude solar influence on the upper atmosphere could have an important effect, via the nonlinear evolution of atmospheric dynamics, on critical atmospheric processes.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045001
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Climate BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Environmental Change and Evolution
ISSN:	1748-9326
Date made live:	14 Oct 2013 09:20 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/501746

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045001

Programmes:

BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Climate
BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Environmental Change and Evolution

ISSN:

1748-9326

Date made live:

14 Oct 2013 09:20 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/501746