A shift in the tropopause jet may have triggered the unusual number of high-altitude clouds that briefly appeared in the early summer of 2019.
Middle atmosphere dynamics
Posted inResearch Spotlights
An Extraordinary Winter in the Polar North
An exceptionally strong stratospheric polar vortex coincided with a record-breaking Arctic Oscillation pattern and ozone destruction during the 2019–2020 winter season.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Gravity Waves Leave Ripples Across a Glowing Night Sky
A thunderstorm made waves on a rare “bright night.”
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Modeling Gravity Waves with Machine Learning
Researchers used neural networks to better define the parameterizations necessary for modeling the distribution and characteristics of orographic gravity waves.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Capturing Heat-Driven Atmospheric Tides on Mars
Spacecraft observations and model simulations provide new insights into tidal patterns that transport momentum and energy into the planet’s upper atmosphere.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Warming in the Antarctic Stratosphere Affects Tropical Weather
Rapid temperature spikes in the stratosphere above Antarctica can influence weather and spark cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere’s tropics.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Polar Vortex Deformations Change Tidal Weather in the Mesosphere
Wind observations made by a high-latitude radar network shed new light on the rapid response of atmospheric tides in the upper mesosphere to stratospheric sudden warmings.
Posted inScience Updates
The Stratosphere and Its Role in Tropical Teleconnections
Joint SPARC Dynamics and Observations Workshop; Kyoto, Japan, 9–14 October 2017
Posted inFeatures
How Sudden Stratospheric Warming Affects the Whole Atmosphere
High above Earth’s surface, air temperatures occasionally increase suddenly, producing widespread effects on weather, air chemistry, and telecommunications.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Sorting Waves in the Sky
Gravity waves in the atmosphere drive weather around the globe. A new study helps interpret gravity wave data and identify annual patterns of this atmospheric mechanism.