Articles | Volume 16, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5897-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5897-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Difference spectrum fitting of the ion–neutral collision frequency from dual-frequency EISCAT measurements
Florian Günzkofer
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute for Solar-Terrestrial Physics, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Neustrelitz, Germany
Gunter Stober
Institute of Applied Physics, Microwave Physics, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research (OCCR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Dimitry Pokhotelov
Institute of Physics, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
Yasunobu Miyoshi
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Claudia Borries
Institute for Solar-Terrestrial Physics, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Neustrelitz, Germany
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Florian Günzkofer, Gunter Stober, Johan Kero, David R. Themens, Anders Tjulin, Njål Gulbrandsen, Masaki Tsutsumi, and Claudia Borries
Ann. Geophys., 43, 331–348, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-331-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-331-2025, 2025
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The Earth’s magnetic field is not closed at high latitudes. Electrically charged particles can penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, deposit their energy, and heat the local atmosphere–ionosphere. This presumably causes an upwelling of the neutral atmosphere, which affects the atmosphere–ionosphere coupling. We apply a new analysis technique to infer the atmospheric density from incoherent scatter radar measurements. We identify signs of particle precipitation impact on the neutral atmosphere.
Florian Günzkofer, Dimitry Pokhotelov, Gunter Stober, Ingrid Mann, Sharon L. Vadas, Erich Becker, Anders Tjulin, Alexander Kozlovsky, Masaki Tsutsumi, Njål Gulbrandsen, Satonori Nozawa, Mark Lester, Evgenia Belova, Johan Kero, Nicholas J. Mitchell, and Claudia Borries
Ann. Geophys., 41, 409–428, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-41-409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-41-409-2023, 2023
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Gravity waves (GWs) are waves in Earth's atmosphere and can be observed as cloud ripples. Under certain conditions, these waves can propagate up into the ionosphere. Here, they can cause ripples in the ionosphere plasma, observable as oscillations of the plasma density. Therefore, GWs contribute to the ionospheric variability, making them relevant for space weather prediction. Additionally, the behavior of these waves allows us to draw conclusions about the atmosphere at these altitudes.
Guochun Shi, Hanli Liu, Masaki Tsutsumi, Njål Gulbrandsen, Alexander Kozlovsky, Dimitry Pokhotelov, Mark Lester, Christoph Jacobi, Kun Wu, and Gunter Stober
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 9403–9430, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9403-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9403-2025, 2025
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Concerns about climate change are growing due to its widespread impacts, including rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and disruptions to ecosystems. To address these challenges, urgent global action is needed to monitor the distribution of trace gases and understand their effects on the atmosphere.
Ales Kuchar, Gunter Stober, Dimitry Pokhotelov, Huixin Liu, Han-Li Liu, Manfred Ern, Damian Murphy, Diego Janches, Tracy Moffat-Griffin, Nicholas Mitchell, and Christoph Jacobi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2827, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2827, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Annales Geophysicae (ANGEO).
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We studied how the healing of the Antarctic ozone layer is affecting winds high above the South Pole. Using ground-based radar, satellite data, and computer models, we found that winds in the upper atmosphere have become stronger over the past two decades. These changes appear to be linked to shifts in the lower atmosphere caused by ozone recovery. Our results show that human efforts to repair the ozone layer are also influencing climate patterns far above Earth’s surface.
Arthur Gauthier, Claudia Borries, Alexander Kozlovsky, Diego Janches, Peter Brown, Denis Vida, Christoph Jacobi, Damian Murphy, Masaki Tsutsumi, Njål Gulbrandsen, Satonori Nozawa, Mark Lester, Johan Kero, Nicholas Mitchell, Tracy Moffat-Griffin, and Gunter Stober
Ann. Geophys., 43, 427–440, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-427-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-427-2025, 2025
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This study focuses on a TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI)–meteor radar (MR) comparison of zonal and meridional winds and their dependence on local time and latitude. The correlation calculation between TIDI wind measurements and MR winds shows good agreement. A TIDI–MR seasonal comparison and analysis of the altitude–latitude dependence for winds are performed. TIDI reproduces the mean circulation well when compared with MRs and may be a useful lower boundary for general circulation models.
Florian Günzkofer, Gunter Stober, Johan Kero, David R. Themens, Anders Tjulin, Njål Gulbrandsen, Masaki Tsutsumi, and Claudia Borries
Ann. Geophys., 43, 331–348, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-331-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-331-2025, 2025
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The Earth’s magnetic field is not closed at high latitudes. Electrically charged particles can penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, deposit their energy, and heat the local atmosphere–ionosphere. This presumably causes an upwelling of the neutral atmosphere, which affects the atmosphere–ionosphere coupling. We apply a new analysis technique to infer the atmospheric density from incoherent scatter radar measurements. We identify signs of particle precipitation impact on the neutral atmosphere.
Alistair Bell, Axel Murk, and Gunter Stober
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1396, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1396, 2025
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Increases in middle atmospheric water vapour from the 2022 Hunga eruption have been measured worldwide. This study uses remote sensing measurements at two latitudes and accurate radiative transfer modeling to show significant long-wave heating effects. Though minimal at the surface, the water vapour enhancement can alter middle-atmospheric dynamics, potentially affecting ozone chemistry and weather patterns.
Zishun Qiao, Alan Z. Liu, Gunter Stober, Javier Fuentes, Fabio Vargas, Christian L. Adami, and Iain M. Reid
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1091–1104, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1091-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1091-2025, 2025
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This paper describes the installation of the Chilean Observation Network De Meteor Radars (CONDOR) and its initial results. The routine winds are point-to-point comparable to the co-located lidar winds. The retrievals of spatially resolved horizontal wind fields and vertical winds are also facilitated, benefiting from the extensive meteor detections. The successful deployment and maintenance of CONDOR provide 24/7 and state-of-the-art wind measurements to the research community.
Alistair Bell, Eric Sauvageat, Gunter Stober, Klemens Hocke, and Axel Murk
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 555–567, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-555-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-555-2025, 2025
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Hardware and software developments have been made on a 22 GHz microwave radiometer for the measurement of middle-atmospheric water vapour near Bern, Switzerland. Previous measurements dating back to 2010 have been re-calibrated and an improved optimal estimation retrieval performed on these measurements, giving a 13-year dataset. Measurements made with new and improved instrumental hardware are used to correct previous measurements, which show better agreement than the non-corrected dataset.
Maria Gloria Tan Jun Rios, Claudia Borries, Huixin Liu, and Jens Mielich
Ann. Geophys., 43, 73–89, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-73-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-73-2025, 2025
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This study analyzes changes in the ionospheric response to solar flux over five complete solar cycles (1957 to 2023). We use Juliusruh hourly data of the peak electron density of the F2 layer, NmF2, and three solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation proxies. The response is better represented by a cubic regression, and F30 shows the highest correlation for describing NmF2 dependence over time. These results reveal a decrease in NmF2 influenced by the intensity of the solar activity index.
Guochun Shi, Witali Krochin, Eric Sauvageat, and Gunter Stober
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10187–10207, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10187-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10187-2024, 2024
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Here we investigated ozone anomalies over polar regions during sudden stratospheric and final stratospheric warming with ground-based microwave radiometers at polar latitudes compared with reanalysis and satellite data. The underlying dynamical and chemical mechanisms are responsible for the observed ozone anomalies in both events. Our research sheds light on these processes, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of these processes for more accurate climate modeling and forecasting.
Witali Krochin, Axel Murk, and Gunter Stober
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5015–5028, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5015-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5015-2024, 2024
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Atmospheric tides are global-scale oscillations with periods of a fraction of a day. Their observation in the middle atmosphere is challenging and rare, as it requires continuous measurements with a high temporal resolution. In this paper, temperature time series of a ground-based microwave radiometer were analyzed with a spectral filter to derive thermal tide amplitudes and phases in an altitude range of 25–50 km at the geographical locations of Payerne and Bern (Switzerland).
Gunter Stober, Sharon L. Vadas, Erich Becker, Alan Liu, Alexander Kozlovsky, Diego Janches, Zishun Qiao, Witali Krochin, Guochun Shi, Wen Yi, Jie Zeng, Peter Brown, Denis Vida, Neil Hindley, Christoph Jacobi, Damian Murphy, Ricardo Buriti, Vania Andrioli, Paulo Batista, John Marino, Scott Palo, Denise Thorsen, Masaki Tsutsumi, Njål Gulbrandsen, Satonori Nozawa, Mark Lester, Kathrin Baumgarten, Johan Kero, Evgenia Belova, Nicholas Mitchell, Tracy Moffat-Griffin, and Na Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4851–4873, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4851-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4851-2024, 2024
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On 15 January 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai volcano exploded in a vigorous eruption, causing many atmospheric phenomena reaching from the surface up to space. In this study, we investigate how the mesospheric winds were affected by the volcanogenic gravity waves and estimated their propagation direction and speed. The interplay between model and observations permits us to gain new insights into the vertical coupling through atmospheric gravity waves.
Florian Günzkofer, Dimitry Pokhotelov, Gunter Stober, Ingrid Mann, Sharon L. Vadas, Erich Becker, Anders Tjulin, Alexander Kozlovsky, Masaki Tsutsumi, Njål Gulbrandsen, Satonori Nozawa, Mark Lester, Evgenia Belova, Johan Kero, Nicholas J. Mitchell, and Claudia Borries
Ann. Geophys., 41, 409–428, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-41-409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-41-409-2023, 2023
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Gravity waves (GWs) are waves in Earth's atmosphere and can be observed as cloud ripples. Under certain conditions, these waves can propagate up into the ionosphere. Here, they can cause ripples in the ionosphere plasma, observable as oscillations of the plasma density. Therefore, GWs contribute to the ionospheric variability, making them relevant for space weather prediction. Additionally, the behavior of these waves allows us to draw conclusions about the atmosphere at these altitudes.
Guochun Shi, Witali Krochin, Eric Sauvageat, and Gunter Stober
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9137–9159, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9137-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9137-2023, 2023
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We present the interannual and climatological behavior of ozone and water vapor from microwave radiometers in the Arctic.
By defining a virtual conjugate latitude station in the Southern Hemisphere, we investigate altitude-dependent interhemispheric differences and estimate the ascent and descent rates of water vapor in both hemispheres. Ozone and water vapor measurements will create a deeper understanding of the evolution of middle atmospheric ozone and water vapor.
Gunter Stober, Alan Liu, Alexander Kozlovsky, Zishun Qiao, Witali Krochin, Guochun Shi, Johan Kero, Masaki Tsutsumi, Njål Gulbrandsen, Satonori Nozawa, Mark Lester, Kathrin Baumgarten, Evgenia Belova, and Nicholas Mitchell
Ann. Geophys., 41, 197–208, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-41-197-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-41-197-2023, 2023
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The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha‘apai volcanic eruption was one of the most vigorous volcanic explosions in the last centuries. The eruption launched many atmospheric waves traveling around the Earth. In this study, we identify these volcanic waves at the edge of space in the mesosphere/lower-thermosphere, leveraging wind observations conducted with multi-static meteor radars in northern Europe and with the Chilean Observation Network De Meteor Radars (CONDOR).
Gunter Stober, Alan Liu, Alexander Kozlovsky, Zishun Qiao, Ales Kuchar, Christoph Jacobi, Chris Meek, Diego Janches, Guiping Liu, Masaki Tsutsumi, Njål Gulbrandsen, Satonori Nozawa, Mark Lester, Evgenia Belova, Johan Kero, and Nicholas Mitchell
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5769–5792, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5769-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5769-2022, 2022
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Precise and accurate measurements of vertical winds at the mesosphere and lower thermosphere are rare. Although meteor radars have been used for decades to observe horizontal winds, their ability to derive reliable vertical wind measurements was always questioned. In this article, we provide mathematical concepts to retrieve mathematically and physically consistent solutions, which are compared to the state-of-the-art non-hydrostatic model UA-ICON.
Witali Krochin, Francisco Navas-Guzmán, David Kuhl, Axel Murk, and Gunter Stober
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2231–2249, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2231-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2231-2022, 2022
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This study leverages atmospheric temperature measurements performed with a ground-based radiometer making use of data that was collected during a 4-year observational campaign applying a new retrieval algorithm that improves the maximal altitude range from 45 to 55 km. The measurements are validated against two independent data sets, MERRA2 reanalysis data and the meteorological analysis of NAVGEM-HA.
Sumanta Sarkhel, Gunter Stober, Jorge L. Chau, Steven M. Smith, Christoph Jacobi, Subarna Mondal, Martin G. Mlynczak, and James M. Russell III
Ann. Geophys., 40, 179–190, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-40-179-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-40-179-2022, 2022
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A rare gravity wave event was observed on the night of 25 April 2017 over northern Germany. An all-sky airglow imager recorded an upward-propagating wave at different altitudes in mesosphere with a prominent wave front above 91 km and faintly observed below. Based on wind and satellite-borne temperature profiles close to the event location, we have found the presence of a leaky thermal duct layer in 85–91 km. The appearance of this duct layer caused the wave amplitudes to diminish below 91 km.
Christoph Jacobi, Friederike Lilienthal, Dmitry Korotyshkin, Evgeny Merzlyakov, and Gunter Stober
Adv. Radio Sci., 19, 185–193, https://doi.org/10.5194/ars-19-185-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/ars-19-185-2021, 2021
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We compare winds and tidal amplitudes in the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere region for cases with disturbed and undisturbed geomagnetic conditions. The zonal winds in both the mesosphere and lower thermosphere tend to be weaker during disturbed conditions. The summer equatorward meridional wind jet is weaker for disturbed geomagnetic conditions. The effect of geomagnetic variability on tidal amplitudes, except for the semidiurnal tide, is relatively small.
Gunter Stober, Alexander Kozlovsky, Alan Liu, Zishun Qiao, Masaki Tsutsumi, Chris Hall, Satonori Nozawa, Mark Lester, Evgenia Belova, Johan Kero, Patrick J. Espy, Robert E. Hibbins, and Nicholas Mitchell
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6509–6532, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6509-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6509-2021, 2021
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Wind observations at the edge to space, 70–110 km altitude, are challenging. Meteor radars have become a widely used instrument to obtain mean wind profiles above an instrument for these heights. We describe an advanced mathematical concept and present a tomographic analysis using several meteor radars located in Finland, Sweden and Norway, as well as Chile, to derive the three-dimensional flow field. We show an example of a gravity wave decelerating the mean flow.
Dimitry Pokhotelov, Isabel Fernandez-Gomez, and Claudia Borries
Ann. Geophys., 39, 833–847, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-833-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-833-2021, 2021
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During geomagnetic storms, enhanced solar wind and changes in the interplanetary magnetic field lead to ionisation anomalies across the polar regions. The superstorm of 20 November 2003 was one of the largest events in recent history. Numerical simulations of ionospheric dynamics during the storm are compared with plasma observations to understand the mechanisms forming the polar plasma anomalies. The results are important for understanding and forecasting space weather in polar regions.
Gunter Stober, Ales Kuchar, Dimitry Pokhotelov, Huixin Liu, Han-Li Liu, Hauke Schmidt, Christoph Jacobi, Kathrin Baumgarten, Peter Brown, Diego Janches, Damian Murphy, Alexander Kozlovsky, Mark Lester, Evgenia Belova, Johan Kero, and Nicholas Mitchell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13855–13902, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13855-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13855-2021, 2021
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Little is known about the climate change of wind systems in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere at the edge of space at altitudes from 70–110 km. Meteor radars represent a well-accepted remote sensing technique to measure winds at these altitudes. Here we present a state-of-the-art climatological interhemispheric comparison using continuous and long-lasting observations from worldwide distributed meteor radars from the Arctic to the Antarctic and sophisticated general circulation models.
Gunter Stober, Diego Janches, Vivien Matthias, Dave Fritts, John Marino, Tracy Moffat-Griffin, Kathrin Baumgarten, Wonseok Lee, Damian Murphy, Yong Ha Kim, Nicholas Mitchell, and Scott Palo
Ann. Geophys., 39, 1–29, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-1-2021, 2021
Gunter Stober, Kathrin Baumgarten, John P. McCormack, Peter Brown, and Jerry Czarnecki
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11979–12010, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11979-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11979-2020, 2020
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This paper presents a first cross-comparison of meteor ground-based observations and a meteorological analysis (NAVGEM-HA) to compare a seasonal climatology of winds and temperatures at the mesosphere/lower thermosphere. The validation is insofar unique as we not only compare the mean state but also provide a detailed comparison of the short time variability of atmospheric tidal waves. Our analysis questions previous results claiming the importance of lunar tides.
Leonie Bernet, Elmar Brockmann, Thomas von Clarmann, Niklaus Kämpfer, Emmanuel Mahieu, Christian Mätzler, Gunter Stober, and Klemens Hocke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11223–11244, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11223-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11223-2020, 2020
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With global warming, water vapour increases in the atmosphere. Water vapour is an important gas because it is a natural greenhouse gas and affects the formation of clouds, rain and snow. How much water vapour increases can vary in different regions of the world. To verify if it increases as expected on a regional scale, we analysed water vapour measurements in Switzerland. We found that water vapour generally increases as expected from temperature changes, except in winter.
Franziska Schranz, Jonas Hagen, Gunter Stober, Klemens Hocke, Axel Murk, and Niklaus Kämpfer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10791–10806, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10791-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10791-2020, 2020
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We measured middle-atmospheric ozone, water vapour and zonal and meridional wind with two ground-based microwave radiometers which are located at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, in the Arctic. In this article we present measurements of the small-scale horizontal ozone gradients during winter 2018/2019. We found a distinct seasonal variation of the ozone gradients which is linked to the planetary wave activity. We further present the signatures of the SSW in the ozone, water vapour and wind measurements.
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Short summary
Electric currents in the ionosphere can impact both satellite and ground-based infrastructure. These currents depend strongly on the collisions of ions and neutral particles. Measuring ion–neutral collisions is often only possible via certain assumptions. The direct measurement of ion–neutral collision frequencies is possible with multifrequency incoherent scatter radar measurements. This paper presents one analysis method of such measurements and discusses its advantages and disadvantages.
Electric currents in the ionosphere can impact both satellite and ground-based infrastructure....