How Does Interhemispheric Coupling Contribute to Cool Down the Summer Polar Mesosphere?

Abstract

Abstract Interhemispheric coupling is commonly associated with events of high planetary wave activity in the winter stratosphere triggering a heating of the polar mesopause region in the opposite hemisphere. Here, a more fundamental role that this mechanism plays in the absence of planetary wave variability is highlighted. This study focuses directly on the mesospheric part of the coupling chain, which is induced by the gravity wave drag in the winter mesosphere. To investigate the effect that the winter residual flow has on the summertime high-latitude upwelling, the Kühlungsborn Mechanistic General Circulation Model (KMCM) is used to compare a control simulation to runs where the parameterized gravity waves are removed from the winter hemisphere. The model response in the summer mesosphere reveals that the winter mesospheric residual circulation fosters a net (and substantial) cooling of the summer polar mesopause. These results offer an extension of the current view of interhemispheric coupling: from a mode of internal variability to a constant, gravity wave–driven phenomenon that is modulated by planetary wave activity.