Nonmigrating tidal variability in the SABER/TIMED mesospheric ozone

This paper presents for the first time evidence showing nonmigrating tidal variations in the mesospheric ozone (O₃) derived from the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry/Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Energetics and Dynamics (SABER/TIMED) for a full 11 year period, 2002–2012. The O₃ tidal fields are extracted from the data by the same method as the temperature tides have been derived. The spatial distribution and seasonal variability of the three strongest nonmigrating O₃ tidal variabilities, i.e., SW3, DW2, and DE3, are shown. They demonstrate repeatable presence each year. These O₃ tidal variations have large amplitudes at the seasons and latitudes for which the respective temperature (T) tides amplify, i.e., near the equator and during the equinoxes. The phases of the T and O₃ tidal signatures are out of phase above 95 km. This phase relationship no longer holds for tidal perturbations below about 90 km. The O₃ SW3 and DW2 tidal variations have similar interannual variabilities that appear to follow El Niño–Southern Oscillation variability. The O₃ DE3 tidal field, however, has a clear biyearly interannual variability as the biyearly maxima correlate with the westerly phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation in tropical stratospheric winds but only up to 2008.