The Response of Stratospheric Gravity Waves to the 11-Year Solar Cycle

Abstract

Atmospheric gravity waves are one of the important dynamic processes in near space and are widely present in the atmosphere. They play a crucial role in the transfer of energy and momentum between different regions of the atmosphere. The Sun, as the ultimate source of gravity wave energy, significantly influences the intensity of gravity wave disturbances through its activity variations. This paper utilizes data from the Global Navigation Satellite System Occultation Sounder (GNOS) onboard the Fengyun-3C (FY-3C) satellite to invert global stratospheric gravity wave disturbances. It provides the global stratospheric gravity wave distribution from 2015 to 2023, nearly covering one solar activity cycle, and focuses on analyzing the response of gravity waves at different latitudes, altitudes, and wavelengths to the solar activity cycle. We found that short-wavelength gravity waves respond more noticeably to solar activity compared to long-wavelength gravity waves. Through analyzing the intensity of stratospheric gravity wave disturbances across different latitude bands, we found that in high-latitude regions, stratospheric gravity wave disturbances are most sensitive and respond most quickly to variations in solar activity. Furthermore, the Southern Hemisphere exhibits a stronger response to the current year’s solar activity changes compared to the Northern Hemisphere. In the mid-latitude and equatorial regions, the response to changes in solar activity intensity is delayed. The correlation gradually strengthens with this lag, reaching a very strong level after a 2-year lag. Additionally, the correlation between the Southern Hemisphere and solar activity is generally higher than that of the Northern Hemisphere.

Keywords

• solar activity
• gravity waves
• stratosphere