Typhoon‐induced concentric airglow structures in the mesopause region

[1] We present the first reported gravity wave patterns in the mesopause region caused by a typhoon in the troposphere. On 10 December 2002, concentric rings of gravity waves in OH airglow were observed simultaneously by all-sky imagers in the Optical Mesosphere and Thermosphere Imager system in Japan, located at Rikubetsu (43.5°N, 143.8°E), Shigaraki (34.9°N, 136.1°E), and Sata (31.0°N, 130.7°E). The airglow structures, which were well defined and formed a coherent wave pattern expanding concentrically, were identified over 8 h (2135-2947 LT). We estimate the horizontal wavelength, horizontal phase speed, and wave period as 34.5 km, 50.2 m s -1 , and 11.5 min, respectively. Infrared cloud images from the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite show that the center of the rings estimated from the airglow data corresponds to a spiral band of Typhoon Pongsona (T0226). This unique event provides new insight into coupling between the lower and upper atmosphere. Citation: Suzuki, S., S. L. Vadas, K. Shiokawa, Y. Otsuka, S. Kawamura, and Y. Murayama (2013), Typhoon-induced concentric airglow structures in the mesopause region, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 5983-5987, doi:10.1002/2013GL058087.