Middle atmosphere tides

Abstract

The recent direction of theoretical and observational research in middle atmosphere tides is reviewed. The diurnal tide has received considerable emphasis, including observations of evanescent components at high latitudes, numerical simulations of nonmigrating propagating components due to longitudinally varying water vapor insolation absorption in the troposphere, and implications and origins of unsteadiness in tidal oscillations over periods of days. Recent analyses of Nimbus 7 LIMS temperatures and partial reflection drift measurements of neutral winds in the tropical mesosphere have also emphasized the diurnal propagating tide. A description of the Atmospheric Tides Middle Atmosphere Program (ATMAP) and an overview of ATMAP campaign results are also presented.