remote sensing

Communication
Atmospheric Gravity Wave Derived from the Neutral Wind
with 5-Minute Resolution Routinely Retrieved by the Meteor
Radar at Mohe
Chi Long 1 , Tao Yu 1,2, *, Yang-Yi Sun 2 , Xiangxiang Yan 1,2 , Jian Zhang 2 , Na Yang 2 , Jin Wang 2,3 , Chunliang Xia 2 ,
Yu Liang 2 and Hailun Ye 4

1 Key Laboratory of Geological Survey and Evaluation of Ministry of Education,

China University of Geoscience, Wuhan 430074, China
2 Hubei Subsurface Multi-Scale Imaging Key Laboratory, School of Geophysics and Geomatics,
China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
3 State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
4 CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences,
University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
* Correspondence: yutao@[Link]; Tel.: +86-181-6230-7810

Abstract: Atmospheric gravity waves (GWs) in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT) are crucial
for the understanding of general circulation. However, their dynamical characteristics are hardly
retrieved due to the difficulty in the high-resolution observation of wind. Therefore, this paper uses
eight years (2013–2020) of meteor radar measurements in the MLT region at Mohe station (53.5◦ N,
122.3◦ E), China, to retrieve high-temporal-resolution mesospheric wind data and further evaluate the
temporal variation of GW kinetic energy. As the detected meteor trails exceed 6, the wind velocity is
recalculated using the least square algorithm method, significantly increasing the temporal resolution
of wind from 1 h up to 5 min. This resolution is sufficiently high for the investigation of GW kinetic
energy, which exhibits a high spatial-temporal variability. For instance, it is enhanced in the winter
season during the period of 0200–1400 UT and in the spring season during the period of 0800–1300 UT.
Citation: Long, C.; Yu, T.; Sun, Y.-Y.;
Yan, X.; Zhang, J.; Yang, N.; Wang, J.;
The similarity between the climatological characteristics of GWs in MLT and the seasonal variation
Xia, C.; Liang, Y.; Ye, H. Atmospheric of GW total energy in the troposphere, determined from high-resolution radiosondes near to Mohe
Gravity Wave Derived from the station, suggests that the meteorology in the lower atmosphere could be an important source of GWs
Neutral Wind with 5-Minute in the MLT region.
Resolution Routinely Retrieved by
the Meteor Radar at Mohe. Remote Keywords: high-temporal-resolution wind; gravity wave; meteor radar
Sens. 2023, 15, 296. [Link]
10.3390/rs15020296

Academic Editors: Yun Gong and

Qihou Zhou 1. Introduction
Gravity waves (GWs) play a remarkable role in defining the large-scale circulation and
Received: 26 November 2022
thermal structure of the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT) region, and their spatial-
Revised: 28 December 2022
temporal variabilities are largely determined by global-scale or synoptic-scale meteorology
Accepted: 31 December 2022
Published: 4 January 2023
in the troposphere and stratosphere [1]. Although the instantaneous motion fields at MLT
heights are dominated by planetary waves and atmospheric tides for their large horizontal
and vertical amplitudes, the largest systemic effects on the MLT region mainly result from
small-scale GWs that can transport energy and momentum from the sources in the lower
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. atmosphere to the MLT region [2–4].
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. A variety of techniques have examined the characteristics of GWs in the MLT over a
This article is an open access article wide range of locations, including ground-based instruments, such as meteor radar [5–7],
distributed under the terms and medium-frequency radar [8,9], lidar and airglow imager [10–16], and instruments on board
conditions of the Creative Commons satellites, such as Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics Dynamics/Sounding
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (TIMED/SABER) [17–19]. How-
[Link]/licenses/by/ ever, their working principles and temporal–spatial detection capabilities are somewhat
4.0/).

Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296. [Link] [Link]

Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 2 of 14

different. By detecting the disturbance in the intensity of OH airglow at nighttime, the air-
glow imager can identify high-frequency GWs with periods shorter than 1 h in the imaging
range [12]. Lidar can measure neutral temperature and wind vertical profiles to further
obtain the GWs, but it lacks information in the horizontal direction [10]. TIMED/SABER is
capable of providing a global picture of the entire height region from the stratosphere to
the MLT region [19], but the detection of specific regions is inefficient. The ability of meteor
radar to measure GW momentum fluxes has been investigated [6]. Importantly, meteor
radar is an economic instrument that can provide continuous observation of wind fields in
the MLT.
The meteor radar has made considerable progress in understanding the large-scale
dynamic processes of the MLT region. The meteor radar was first designed in the 1950s [20].
It has been extensively used in investigating neutral winds and wave motions in the height
range of 80–100 km [21]. Based on a developed SkiYMET radar system, Hocking and
Thayaparan [22] first utilized the least square fitting algorithm to obtain the horizontal
hourly winds. Then, numerous research on long period oscillations with a period range
from a few hours to a few days has been carried out with hourly meteor winds over the
last decades, including atmospheric tides, planetary waves, and the nonlinear interactions
between waves [23–25]. Hocking [26] showed that the meteor radar observations can obtain
the GW momentum fluxes and wind variances with a time scale of 2–3 h by proposing
a new method. The winds derived from the radar observations show the seasonal and
geographical distributions of GW momentum fluxes and variances [6,27,28].
Investigating the characteristics of GWs is difficult for the meteor radar due to the
limitation of the temporal resolution of the meteor winds. Some previous studies optimized
the temporary resolution of meteor winds. To investigate the horizontal propagation char-
acteristics of GWs and their specific propagating parameters, Yamamoto et al. [29] averaged
the radial drift velocity of meteor echo over 10 min and converted it into horizontal wind
velocity. Using a similar method, Suzuki et al. [30] used meteor winds with a 20 min
resolution to observe the horizontal wind perturbations caused by GWs. Kumar et al. [31]
developed an algorithm to obtain the 15 min resolution meteor wind, which agreed with
the hourly wind. The high-resolution winds mentioned above were all estimated during
the particular periods with high meteor counts, such as during the meteor shower periods
of 0000–0400 UT and 1800–2300 UT.
The meteor radar operated at Mohe, China, has a good measurement capability in
detecting meteor echoes [32,33]. Nearly 25,000 meteor counts can be detected per day over
Mohe, and the hourly meteor counts of the annual average range from 500 to 1200. The
meteor counts are sufficient for continuously estimating the wind with a higher temporal
resolution. In this paper, the Mohe meteor radar data are utilized to obtain a 5 min high-
resolution wind in the MLT region and then to calculate the GW kinetic energy (Ek). The
similarity between the climatological characteristics of GWs in MLT and the variability of
GW total energy in the troposphere, which is determined from high-resolution radiosondes
close to Mohe station, is discussed. The relationship between GW activity and medium-
scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTID) is also discussed based on the statistical
results from the Ek distribution obtained from the eight-year meteor data from 2013 to 2020.

2. Data and Methodology

2.1. Meteor Data Description
The Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IG-
GCAS) established a meteor radar chain to record the continuous wind in the MLT re-
gion [32,33]. The IGGCAS meteor radar chain, consisting of Mohe, Beijing (BJ, 40.3◦ N,
116.2◦ E), Wuhan (WH, 30.5◦ N, 114.6◦ E), and Sanya (SY, 18.3◦ N, 109.6◦ E), was situated at
the 120◦ E meridian from north to south [34]. The radar located at Mohe was manufactured
by the Atmospheric Radar Systems of Australia, and it has a peak power of 7.5 kW and a
duty cycle of 10% at a frequency of 38.9 MHz. The antenna array consists of six crossed
dipoles. A two-element Yagi antenna serves as the transmitter, and the five Yagi antennas
 Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 3 of 15

Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 3 of 14

116.2°E), Wuhan (WH, 30.5°N, 114.6°E), and Sanya (SY, 18.3°N, 109.6°E), was situated at
the 120°E meridian from north to south [34]. The radar located at Mohe was manufactured
by
servetheasAtmospheric
the receivers. Radar ThisSystems of Australia,
system, utilizingand theitinterferometric
has a peak powertechnique
of 7.5 kW and a
to determine
duty cycle of 10% at a frequency of 38.9 MHz. The antenna array consists
the arrival angles and range of the meteor echoes, is almost identical to the Buckland Park of six crossed
dipoles. A two-element Yagi antenna serves as the transmitter, and the five Yagi antennas
meteor radar operating in Australia and the SKiYMET radar operating in Canada [5,35].
serve as the receivers. This system, utilizing the interferometric technique to determine
The Mohe meteor radar is able to operate for both daytime and nighttime, continuously,
the arrival angles and range of the meteor echoes, is almost identical to the Buckland Park
and is generally
meteor undisrupted
radar operating by severe
in Australia and the weather
SKiYMET conditions.
radar operating in Canada [5,35].
In addition, the radiosonde measurements
The Mohe meteor radar is able to operate for both daytime (50 m vertical resolution)
and nighttime, during the years
continuously,
from ◦ ◦
and is2016 to 2020
generally at Hailar by
undisrupted station
severe(49.25
weather N;conditions.
119.70 E; 650.0 m), near to the meteor radar
station, were applied
In addition, to investigate
the radiosonde the variation
measurements in GWresolution)
(50 m vertical total energy in the
during theyears
troposphere.
The
frommeasurements
2016 to 2020 at Hailar include air temperature,
station (49.25°N; 119.70°E;pressure, relative
650.0 m), near tohumidity
the meteor using
radarspecially
station, were
designed applied toand
hygristors, investigate
wind speedthe variation in GW total
and direction energy inthe
by tracking theposition
troposphere.
of a drifting
The measurements
balloon using an L-band includeradar air temperature,
[36,37]. pressure, relative humidity using specially
designed hygristors,
The results and wind
in Figure speedas
1 serve and direction basis
a suitable by tracking the position
for selecting of a drifting
meteor data. First, the
balloon using an L-band radar [36,37].
meteor echo candidates considered as being under dense ones in the following analysis are
The results in Figure 1 serve as a suitable basis for selecting meteor data. First, the
selected. The detailed rejection criteria are shown in Holdsworth et al. [5]. Figure 1a shows
meteor echo candidates considered as being under dense ones in the following analysis
that the daily meteor counts are mostly over 20,000, and the maxima exceed 30,000. Day 266
are selected. The detailed rejection criteria are shown in Holdsworth et al. [5]. Figure 1a
of 2013that
shows is one of themeteor
the daily days withcountsa are
large number
mostly of meteor
over 20,000, echoes.
and the maxima Theexceed
meteor peak height
30,000.
(H peak ) represents the mean height of the echoes detected in
Day 266 of 2013 is one of the days with a large number of meteor echoes. The meteor peak a day. Figure 1b shows the
variation
height (H of daily H
) representspeak the mean height of the echoes detected in a day. Figure 1b showsvariation
over the whole year. The red fitting curve reveals that the
of daily H
the variation peakof daily Ha semi-annual
follows variation,
over the whole year. and twofitting
The red peakscurve
of thereveals
Hpeak that
appearthe in April
variation of daily H
and September. The follows a semi-annual variation, and two peaks of the H
results generally agree with the previous research [33]. Figure 1c
ap-
schematically illustrates the vertical distribution of meteor echoes
pear in April and September. The results generally agree with the previous research [33]. on day 266 of 2013. The
height
Figure distribution
1c schematically peaks at above
illustrates the90 km and
vertical extends from
distribution 70 km
of meteor to 110
echoes onkm. Theofred curve
day 266
2013. Thethe
presents height distribution
fitting of the meteor peaks at above 90
altitude km and extends
distribution with afrom 70 km
normal to 110 km. which
distribution,
The redthe
verifies curve presents the
assumption fitting
that the of the meteor
height altitudeof
distribution distribution
the meteorwith a normal
echoes distri-
follows a Gaussian
bution, which verifies the assumption that the height distribution
distribution [21]. The fitting is centered at 89.73 ± 0.15 km and has a full width at half of the meteor echoes
follows a Gaussian
maximum of 6.82 [Link]
Figure [21]. The fitting
1d shows that isthecentered at 89.73 ±per
echo number 0.15 km and
hour hasparticular
on the a
full width at half maximum of 6.82 km. Figure 1d shows that the echo number per hour
day is clearly above the annual average, and a diurnal variation of daily meteor counts is
on the particular day is clearly above the annual average, and a diurnal variation of daily
visible [35,38].
meteor counts is visible [35,38].

Figure 1. (a) Daily total meteor trails detected by Mohe radar in 2013, in which the red circle identifies
day 266 in 2013 and the corresponding meteor counts. (b) Distribution of daily meteor peak heights.
(c) Distribution of meteor counts with height in a bin of 1 km on day 266 in 2013, in which the red
curve presents a Gaussian fit. Light blue and yellow dotted lines in (d) display the hourly meteor
count on day 266 in 2013 and the averaged value during the whole study period, respectively.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 4 of 14

2.2. Least Square Algorithm Method

After grouping a sufficient amount of meteor echo information, including echo radial
drift velocities (Vr ) and angle of arrival (AOA) direction cosines (l, m, n), into a specific
height/time bin, a least square algorithm can be utilized to estimate the wind velocity (u, v,
w). The equation is described as follows:

Vr = ul + vm + wn (1)

The details of this method were illustrated by Hocking and Thayaparan [22] and
Holdsworth and Reid [38]. The present work fully considers the limitations and implicit
assumptions of the previous studies on the algorithm to secure against suspect wind
estimates. Specifically, it requires a minimum of six echoes in each height/time bin,
considers the assumption that w = 0, and rejects meteor echoes whose absolute difference
between the actual and projected radial wind velocities ∆vr exceeds 30 m/s.
This paper primarily focuses on meteor winds with a 3 km height resolution. The
daily Hpeak is the center height of the specific height region.

2.3. Error σ for Estimating the Meteor Wind

The error σ for estimating the meteor wind is estimated by the following equations:
s
2
∑Ni=1 (C − A ∗ B )
Σ1 = , (2)
N−t
 
D = inv AT A ; Du = D(1, 1), (3)
√
Σ = σ1 ∗ Du , (4)
where C and A represent the matrices of meteor echo radial drift velocities (Vr ) and AOA
direction cosines (l, m), respectively. B represents the matrix of wind velocity (u, v). N is
the number of echoes in each height/time bin and represents the number of equations in
the window. t is the degree of freedom of the equations.

2.4. GW Kinetic Energy in the MLT Region

The wind deviations from a background state of the atmosphere can be utilized
to analyze wave structures in the meteor winds [39,40]. The mean values of zonal and
meridional wind are estimated using the polynomial fit method [41–44]. The polynomial
fits contain a superposition of various gravity and tidal waves because averaging over a
full cycle of the diurnal tide is not included in the estimated background state. Therefore,
the method mentioned above is not suitable to separate the GWs and the tides.
Suppressing the unwanted wave structures is essential to separate the GWs from the
tides and planetary waves. Cai et al. [10] employed the full diurnal cycle data (temperature,
wind) in a short period (38 h), and used harmonic fitting to fit the 6, 8, 12, and 24 h tide
to obtain a background. Baumgarten et al. [40] and Kopp et al. [45] applied a harmonic
fitting with a superposition of diurnal, semidiurnal, and terdiurnal tidal components to
the retrieved sounding deviations from the background. The resulting deviations were
assumed due to tides because of their stable phases, and the GWs were generated with
random phases. Then, removing these fitted deviations induced by the tides (retrieved
from a monthly average) from the total deviations, the residuals should only contain the
GW information when assuming constant tidal amplitudes during the month. However,
the particular tidal modes were not constant over the averaged time period. Hence, this
approach is not suitable to separate the GWs from tides because the 1 month averaging
results in a complete loss of the tides with short-term variability.
In this paper, the GW extraction method proposed by Kopp et al. [45] and Baumgarten
et al. [40] is employed. A Butterworth filter of fifth order as a high pass in the temporal
domain is used. The filter properties are selected such that for temporal filtering, waves
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 5 of 14

with a period larger than 8 h are removed. According to the study of Baumgarten et al. [40]
and Kopp et al. [45], a cutoff period of 8 h is sufficient to suppress tides because the
amplitudes of the tidal waves are relatively smaller than the GWs. The Coriolis frequency f
over Mohe is 1.17 ∗ 10−4 rad/s (0.4212 rad/h; f = 2∗Ω∗ sin ϕ, ϕ is the latitude in radians,
ϕ = 53.5◦ and Ω is the rotation rate of the Earth, Ω = 7.2921 × 10−5 rad/s).
The averaged GW kinetic energy per unit mass (Ek) is approximated as follows [36,41–43]:

1 h 02 i
Ek = u + v0 2 , (5)
2
where u0 , v0 are the GW perturbation components of the zonal and meridional wind velocity,
respectively.

2.5. GW Total Energy in the Troposphere

As described in our recent studies in Zhang et al. [36], the GW total energy in the
troposphere is extracted based on the broad spectral method, which will be introduced
in greater detail below. The total perturbations of wind field and temperature (u0 , v0 , T0 )
are derived by removing the background states (u0 , v0 , and T0 ) that are estimated by a
second-order polynomial fit [41] from the total measurements. The total perturbations
could consist of measurement noises, tidal waves, planetary waves, and GWs. By applying
a band-pass filter with vertical wavelengths of 0.3–6.9 km, the perturbation induced by
GWs can be filtered. Thereby, the average GW total energy per unit mass (energy density)
can be expressed as:
1 h 02 i 1 g2 T̂0 2
0 2
Et = u + v + (6)
2 2 N2
0
where g is the gravitational constant, T̂ = T0 /T the normalized perturbation temperature,
and the overbar indicates an averaging over all study heights. The study height interval is
selected as 2–8.9 km, following Wang and Geller [41].

3. Results
Figure 2 displays an example of the zonal winds estimated by the least squares with
different temporal resolutions on 23 September 2013. The red line represents the meteor
wind, and the black bar represents the error of the wind velocity. The detailed calculation
of the error is shown in Section 2.3. The wind with 60 min resolution shown in Figure 2a is
used to analyze the large-scale atmospheric oscillations in the MLT region, such as tidal
or planetary waves. The winds maintain a similar variation trend with the increase in the
time resolution. The error increases, which indicates that the high temporal resolution
winds become more variable. The 5 min wind in Figure 2d reveals some wave fluctuation
information. In the previous research, Yamamoto et al. [29] and Suzuki et al. [30] extracted
GWs from high-resolution winds. As for the amplitude of neutral wind perturbations, they
are possibly related to the estimation error of the neutral wind velocity. Figure 3 shows the
variation of error of the zonal winds retrieved by the least square fit with meteor counts’
height/time bin under different temporal resolutions on 23 September 2013. The slashed
black line is a regression line of the wind error as a function of the meteor counts. From the
slashed black lines in Figure 3, the error of the wind velocity becomes smaller (or larger) as
the meteor counts increase (or decrease).
RemoteRemote
Sens. Sens.
2023,
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Sens. 29615,
2023,
2023, 15,296
296 6 of 15 66 of
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15

FigureFigure
Figure 2.2. A
2. A typicalAtypical
example
typical example of
of zonal
example zonal
zonal winds
ofwinds (red dot
winds (red dot
lines)
(red lines)
lines)retrieved
dotretrieved by theby
retrieved the
least
by least
leastsquare
thesquare fit
fit under
square fitunder
under
different
different temporal resolutions on 23 September 2013. The vertical black line in Figure 2a−edenotes
different temporal
temporal resolutions
resolutions on 23 on 23 September
September 2013. 2013.
The The vertical
vertical black black
line inline in
FigureFigure
2a−e 2a − e
denotes denotes
error, which
error, is estimated
error,which
which from Equation
isisestimated
estimated from (4). (4).
fromEquation
Equation (4).

FigureFigure 3. Variation
3. Variation of errorof (red
errordots)
(red of
dots) of zonal
zonal winds retrieved
by theby thesquare
least square fitmeteor
with meteor
Figure 3. Variation of error (red dots) ofwinds
zonal retrieved
winds retrieved least
by fit with
the least square fit with meteor
countscounts
in each
counts in each
eachheight/time
inheight/time bin
bin under
bin under
height/time different
different
under temporal
temporal
different resolutions
resolutions
temporal on 23 on
resolutions on2323September
September 2013. 2013.
September [Link]
The The
slashed black line
slashed
slashed blackinline
black Figure
lineininFigure
Figure 3a −e denotes
3a−e denotes
3a−e a regression
denotes model model
aa regression
regression of the wind
model of theerror
of the windas
wind a function
error
error as of the of
asaafunction
function ofthe
the
meteormeteor
countscounts
meteor obtained
counts by theby
obtained
obtained least
thesquare
bythe least method,
leastsquare
square and the
method,
method, fitting
and
and the Equations
thefitting are remarked
fittingEquations
Equations are on theon
areremarked
remarked onthe
the
right of the of
right
right blackthelines.
ofthe blacklines.
black lines.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 7 of 15

Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 7 of 14

Then, the meteor data observed in 2013 are selected to retrieve the zonal winds under
different
Then,resolutions,
the meteoranddatathe results in
observed are2013
displayed in Figure
are selected 4. As for
to retrieve thethe high-resolution
zonal winds under
meteor winds, Figure 4b−e preserves the primary wind structure shown
different resolutions, and the results are displayed in Figure 4. As for the high-resolutionin Figure 4a, and
the structure
meteor winds,isFigure
more definite. Taking the
4b−e preserves Figure 4a aswind
primary an example,
structureFigure
shown4ainshows
Figurethat the
4a, and
wind field reveals the tidal variation. The seasonal variation of the tidal
the structure is more definite. Taking Figure 4a as an example, Figure 4a shows that the signature shows
the
windmaximum value
field reveals theduring the fall months
tidal variation. and winter
The seasonal months.
variation of theThetidaltidal signature
signature showsis rel-
the
atively
maximum weaker
valueinduring
the summer
the fallmonths
monthsand andnot obvious
winter in theThe
months. spring
tidalmonths.
signature Additionally,
is relatively
the strength
weaker in theofsummer
the tidalmonths
signatureandisnot
strong at 0300
obvious UTspring
in the and 1500 UT during
months. the winter
Additionally, the
months, and 00 UT and 12 UT during the fall months, respectively. The
strength of the tidal signature is strong at 0300 UT and 1500 UT during the winter months, variations of the
tidal
and 00signature
UT anddescribed here are
12 UT during thesimilar to the previous
fall months, resultsThe
respectively. of Yu et al. [34].ofSimilarity
variations the tidal
in the seasonal
signature variation
described is also
here are found
similar in previous
to the the nearby sites,ofasYustudied
results by Jacobi
et al. [34]. [46].inThe
Similarity the
meteor
seasonalwind with is
variation 5 min temporal
also found resolution
in the also shows
nearby sites, the tidal
as studied variation
by Jacobi mentioned
[46]. The meteor
above.
wind with 5 min temporal resolution also shows the tidal variation mentioned above.

Figure
Figure 4.
4. Hour−day
Hour−daycross
crosssections
sectionsofofzonal
zonalwinds
windsretrieved
retrievedunder
underdifferent
different temporal
temporal resolutions
resolutions in
in
2013. The blank spaces are due to a lack of meteor counts.
2013. The blank spaces are due to a lack of meteor counts.

Figure
Figure 55 shows
shows anan example
exampleof of55min
minzonal windu uand
zonalwind and 5 min
5 min meridional
meridional wind
wind v onv day
on
day 266 of 2013. The solid lines are the retrieved winds, and the dotted lines
266 of 2013. The solid lines are the retrieved winds, and the dotted lines are the polynomial are the poly-
nomial
fits thatfits that represent
represent the background
the background mean mean
[Link].
SectionSection 2.4 shows
2.4 shows the details.
the details. TheThe
dU
dU
(dV)(dV)
is theis difference
the difference between
between the retrieved
the retrieved zonal zonal (meridional)
(meridional) wind andwindtheand
meanthevalues.
mean
values.
Wave-like Wave-like perturbations
perturbations can be
can be seen in seen in dU
dU and dVand dV (Figure
(Figure 5). The5). The maximum
maximum am-
amplitude
plitude of dU occurs at 1000 and 1930 UT, and has a value of ~20 m/s.
of dU occurs at 1000 and 1930 UT, and has a value of ∼ 20 m/s. During the period from During the period
from
1700 UT1700toUT to UT,
2400 2400theUT,dUtheshows
dU shows atmospheric
atmospheric oscillations
oscillations with with an hourly
an hourly period.
period. The
The
maximummaximum amplitude
amplitude of dV
of dV also alsoatoccurs
occurs at 1000
1000 and 1930 UT,andand
1930 hasUT, and ofhas∼a20value
a value m/s.
of
The~20 m/s. Thechanges
long-period long-period
suggestchanges
that thesuggest
meteorthat
radar the meteor
records theradar recordsinthe
tidal waves the tidal
MLT
waves
region,inwhich
the MLT region,
can be which can be expected.
expected.
To extract the wave perturbations related to GWs, a high-pass filter with a cut-off fre-
quency at 8 h is applied to remove the long-period signal, which is described in Section 2.4.
Figure 6a,b shows the zonal (meridional) velocity perturbation caused by GWs on day
266 in 2013. Mostly, the value zonal component of GW perturbation varies steadily from
−10 m/s to 10 m/s, while at 2000–2100 UT, the value zonal component of GW perturbation
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 8 of 14

changes strongly, reaching 25 m/s. The variation above can also be observed in Figure 2e
at 2000–2100 UT, when the wind velocity become more variable. The variation of the
meridional component of GW perturbation (Figure 6b) shows two maxima at 0200 UT and
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 2000–2100 UT. The value of the meridional component of GW perturbation is 15
8 of smaller than
that in Figure 6a.

Figure 5.5.(a)(a)
Figure Total zonal
Total windwind
zonal variations (blue line),
variations polynomial
(blue fitted wind (black
line), polynomial fitteddotted
windline), anddotted line),
(black
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 9 of 15
the wind perturbation (red line) on day 266 in 2013. Similarly, (b) indicates the result for meridional
and the wind perturbation (red line) on day 266 in 2013. Similarly, (b) indicates the result for
wind.
meridional wind.
To extract the wave perturbations related to GWs, a high-pass filter with a cut-off
frequency at 8 h is applied to remove the long-period signal, which is described in Section
2.4. Figure 6a,b shows the zonal (meridional) velocity perturbation caused by GWs on day
266 in 2013. Mostly, the value zonal component of GW perturbation varies steadily from
−10 m/s to 10 m/s, while at 2000–2100 UT, the value zonal component of GW perturbation
changes strongly, reaching 25 m/s. The variation above can also be observed in Figure 2e
at 2000–2100 UT, when the wind velocity become more variable. The variation of the me-
ridional component of GW perturbation (Figure 6b) shows two maxima at 0200 UT and
2000–2100 UT. The value of the meridional component of GW perturbation is smaller than
that in Figure 6a.

Figure6.6.(a)
Figure (a)Zonal
Zonalwind
wind velocity
velocity perturbation
perturbation caused
caused by GW
by GW (blue(blue
line) line)
on dayon266
dayin266 in Simi-
2013. 2013. Similarly,
(b) indicates
larly, the result
(b) indicates for for
the result thethe
meridional
meridionalcomponent.
component.

Figure 7 displays the comparison between the error wind velocity (red dots) and ab-
solute value of GW perturbation of 5 min natural wind (black dots) on day 266 in 2013. In
general, both the error wind velocity and GW perturbation become smaller (or larger) as
the meteor counts increase (or decrease). The value distribution of the absolute value of
the GW perturbation (from 0 m/s to 25 m/s) is much wider than the error wind velocity
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296
Figure 6. (a) Zonal wind velocity perturbation caused by GW (blue line) on day 266 in 2013.9 Simi-
of 14

larly, (b) indicates the result for the meridional component.

Figure77 displays
Figure displays the comparison
comparisonbetween
betweenthetheerror
errorwind
windvelocity
velocity(red dots)
(red andand
dots) ab-
solute value
absolute valueofof
GWGW perturbation
perturbation ofof
5 min
5 minnatural wind
natural wind (black dots)
(black dots)onon
dayday266 in in
266 2013. In
2013.
general,
In general,both
boththe
theerror
errorwind
windvelocity
velocityand
andGWGW perturbation
perturbation become smaller
smaller (or
(or larger)
larger)as
as
themeteor
the meteorcounts
countsincrease
increase
(or(or decrease).
decrease). The The value
value distribution
distribution of the
of the absolute
absolute valuevalue of
of the
the perturbation
GW GW perturbation(from(from
0 m/s0tom/s25 to 25 m/s)
m/s) is much
is much widerwider than
than the thewind
error errorvelocity
wind velocity
(from
2(from 2 m/s
m/s to to 10 m/s).
10 m/s).

[Link]
Figure Comparisonbetween
betweenerror wind
error velocity
wind (red
velocity dots)
(red andand
dots) absolute value
absolute of GW
value perturbation
of GW perturba-
tion of 5 min wind (black dots) on day 266 in
of 5 min wind (black dots) on day 266 in 2013. 2013.

The GW Ek is calculated using Equation (5) in Section 2.4. Figure 8 shows the variations
of the Ek strength as functions of universal time and season in the monthly and hourly
bins. The Ek here is calculated using the eight-year meteor data from 2013 to 2020. Cai
et al. [11] suggests that the value of GW potential energy, Ep, at ~90 km in the MLT region
is about 50 J/kg. Based on the linear theory of GWs, the ratio Ek/Ep (Ep stands for the GW
potential energy) is a constant ranging from 5/3 to 2.0 [47]. This suggests the Ek ~90 km in
the MLT region is about 80–100 J/kg. Therefore, the value of GW kinetic energy in Figure 8
is close to the result above. The results in Figure 8 suggest that the strength of GW Ek has
clear dependences on season and universal time. The strong GW activity appears in spring
(March, April, and May) and winter (December, January, and February). Specifically, the
maximum value of Ek occurs during 0200–1400 UT in winter and 0800–1300 UT in spring.
The observational results in Jia et al. [48] suggest that the GW variances at ~90 km over
Mohe are generally positively strong in the summer months. The variation of zonal GW
variances shows a maximum reaching 180 m2 /s2 in May, and the meridional GW variances
show a maximum reaching 180 m2 /s2 in July, respectively.
The hourly (seasonal) variation of GW kinetic energy Ek calculated using the eight-
year meteor data from 2013 to 2020 in the MLT region shows a maximum at 1100 UT
(spring) (Figure 9). Figure 10a displays the GW kinetic energy Ek at ~90 km in the MLT
region at 1200 UT. In each year of 2016–2020, The monthly variation of Ek here shows
semiannual variation with two maxima in Dec−Jan and May. The variability of GW total
energy, Et, in the troposphere estimated by the radiosonde measurements close to the Mohe
meteor radar station clearly shows the strong GW activities in the spring months, especially
in May (Figure 10b). The similarity between the mesospheric GW kinetic energy and GW
total energy in troposphere is that both of these GW energies are enhanced in May.
 region is about 50 J/kg. Based on the linear theory of GWs, the ratio Ek/Ep (Ep stands for
the GW potential energy) is a constant ranging from 5/3 to 2.0 [47]. This suggests the Ek
~90 km in the MLT region is about 80–100 J/kg. Therefore, the value of GW kinetic energy
in Figure 8 is close to the result above. The results in Figure 8 suggest that the strength of
GW Ek has clear dependences on season and universal time. The strong GW activity ap-
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 pears in spring (March, April, and May) and winter (December, January, and February). 10 of 14
Specifically, the maximum value of Ek occurs during 0200–1400 UT in winter and 0800–
1300 UT in spring. The observational results in Jia et al. [48] suggest that the GW variances
at ~90The
kmlocal
overKelvin-Helmholtz
Mohe are generally positively
instability strong
could be in
thethe summer
major months.
generation The variation
source for GWs
of
in zonal GW variances
the troposphere [36].shows a maximum
In addition, the jetreaching 180the
stream in mupper
/s introposphere
May, and the meridio-
could be a
nal source. show a maximum reaching 180 m /s in July, respectively.
GW variances
secondary

Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 11 of 15

Figure 8. Hour-mouth cross section of GW kinetic energy Ek calculated by 5 min Mohe meteor radar.
Figure 8. Hour-mouth cross section of GW kinetic energy Ek calculated by 5 min Mohe meteor
The estimated energy is averaged over the whole study period.
radar. The estimated energy is averaged over the whole study period.

The hourly (seasonal) variation of GW kinetic energy Ek calculated using the eight-
year meteor data from 2013 to 2020 in the MLT region shows a maximum at 1100 UT
(spring) (Figure 9). Figure 10a displays the GW kinetic energy Ek at ~90 km in the MLT
region at 1200 UT. In each year of 2016–2020, The monthly variation of Ek here shows
semiannual variation with two maxima in Dec−Jan and May. The variability of GW total
energy, Et, in the troposphere estimated by the radiosonde measurements close to the
Mohe meteor radar station clearly shows the strong GW activities in the spring months,
especially in May (Figure 10b). The similarity between the mesospheric GW kinetic energy
and GW total energy in troposphere is that both of these GW energies are enhanced in
May.

Figure9.9.(a)
Figure (a)Hourly
Hourlyand
and(b)
(b)seasonal
seasonalwhisker
whiskerboxes
boxesfor
forthe
theGW
GWkinetic
kineticenergy Ek.
energyEk.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 11 of 14

Figure 9. (a) Hourly and (b) seasonal whisker boxes for the GW kinetic energy Ek.

Figure 10. (a) GW kinetic energy at ~90 km at 12 UT. (b) Tropospheric GW total energy at 12 UT.
Figure 10. (a) GW kinetic energy at ~90 km at 12 UT. (b) Tropospheric GW total energy at 12 UT.
4. Discussion and Conclusions
The local Kelvin-Helmholtz
Atmospheric GWs propagating instability
from the could be the
surface intomajor generation
the MLT regionsource for GWs
are important
in the
due troposphere
to their efficient[36]. In addition,
vertical transportthe of jet stream
energy andinmomentum
the upper troposphere
from sourcescould be a
at lower
secondary
altitudes source.
into the stratosphere and the MLT [49]. However, the wave structures, especially
the dynamical characteristics in the MLT region and its link with the lower atmosphere,
4. Discussion
still and Conclusions
warrant further observational investigation. This paper analyzes the eight-year meteor
data over Mohe from
Atmospheric GWs2013 to 2020 to investigate
propagating the high-temporal-resolution
from the surface into the MLT region are mesospheric
important
wind and the GW activity in the MLT region. In addition, the variability
due to their efficient vertical transport of energy and momentum from sources at lowerof GW activities in
the troposphere near to the radar station is simultaneously analyzed.
altitudes into the stratosphere and the MLT [49]. However, the wave structures, especially
Using leastcharacteristics
the dynamical square fitting, inthethe
high-temporal-resolution
MLT region and its linkmesospheric winds
with the lower are calcu-
atmosphere,
lated over Mohe station. The wind field with the temporal resolution ranging from 60 min
to 5 min reveals the tidal signature and seasonal variation in the MLT region. The seasonal
variation of the tidal signature shows the maximum value during the fall months and the
winter months. Additionally, the strength of the tidal signature is strong at 0300 UT and
1500 UT during the winter months, and 0000 UT and 1200 UT during the fall months. The
variations of the tidal signature are consistent with the previous results. The meteor wind
with 5 min temporal resolution also shows the tidal variation mentioned above.
The GW kinetic energy, Ek, in the MLT region contains clear seasonal and local time
dependences. The seasonal variation of Ek shows a maximum in May (reaching 120 J/kg),
and a second maximum in Dec−Jan. The hourly variation of Ek shows a maximum at
1100 UT. The maximum values of averaged Ek, composed by the eight-year data from 2013
to 2020, occur in winter during 0200–1400 UT and in spring during 0800–1300 UT.
The variability of GW total energy, Et, in the troposphere estimated by the radiosonde
measurements close to the Mohe meteor radar station clearly shows the strong GW activities
in the spring months, especially in May. Simultaneously, the variation of GW kinetic
energy at ~90 km also shows a maximum in the spring months, especially in May. The
similarity between the GW kinetic energy in the MLT region and the GW total energy in
the troposphere is that both GW energies are enhanced in May. The similarity between the
climatological characteristics of GWs in MLT and the variability of the GW total energy
in the troposphere suggest that the meteorology in the lower atmosphere could be an
important source of GWs in the MLT region. The local Kelvin-Helmholtz instability could
be the major generation source for GWs in the troposphere [36].
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 296 12 of 14

Moreover, the upward propagation GWs in the MLT could be closely associated
with the occurrence rates of middle-scale traveling ionospheric disturbance (MSTID) in
the ionosphere. MSTIDs are considered the manifestation of atmospheric GWs of lower
atmospheric origins in the ionosphere [50–53]. As is known, the upward propagating GWs
can largely increase the amplitude to maintain kinetic energy, which is due to the decrease
in the neutral density in the thermosphere [52]. Eventually, the upward propagating
GWs break up and generate secondary GWs to accelerate Perkins instability, causing the
generation of MSTIDs [52,53]. In addition, the coupling effects between the sporadic E
layer (Es) and Perkins instability can be responsible for generating the MSTIDs, especially
in the nighttime ionosphere. However, Cheng et al. [53] reported that the AGWs may have
a significant contribution to MSTIDs in both daytime and nighttime in summer. The results
in Cheng et al. [53] show a high occurrence rate of the southward (equatorward) MSTIDs
during 0000–1300 UT in winter in Taiwan (14.5◦ N geomagnetic latitude; 32.5◦ inclination).
Southward MSTIDs mainly occur around 1300–1900 UT during summer. Otsuka et al. [52]
suggest that the MSTID occurrence rate reached a peak at 1300–1400 UT in nighttime
during summer in Japan (133.0◦ −137.0◦ E, 33.0◦ −37.0◦ N). In nighttime during the winter,
the MSTID occurrence rate peaks at 1400 and ~1000 UT under low and high solar activity
conditions, respectively. Huang et al. [54] suggest that the MSTIDs had a high occurrence
rate during 1100–1900 UT at night in May at midlatitudes over central China. Daytime
MSTID frequently occurred during 0000–0900 UT in winter. In the current paper, strong
GW activity in the MLT region occurs during 0200–1400 UT in winter and 0800–1300 UT in
spring. The temporal and monthly distributions of the strength of the GW kinetic energy Ek
agree with the occurrence rates of MSTID, while the similarity between the climatological
characteristics of GWs in MLT and MSTID still needs further investigation.
The neutral wind estimated from the meteor data using the traditional least square al-
gorithm is efficient, and the mathematical process can still be improved. The new algorithm
in deriving the high-resolution meteor wind and its application in the GW observation will
be investigated in the future.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, C.L. methodology, C.L., Y.-Y.S., and J.Z.; validation, C.L.,
H.Y., and J.Z.; resources, T.Y.; data curation, J.Z. and H.Y.; writing—original draft preparation
and revision, C.L., J.Z., C.X., N.Y., J.W., X.Y., Y.L., and H.Y.; figure revision, J.W., Y.-Y.S., and J.Z.;
supervision, H.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under
grants 42230207, 41874185, 42174211, 42104165, and 42205074; the Specialized Research Fund for
State Key Laboratories; and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China
University of Geosciences (Wuhan).
Data Availability Statement: We would like to acknowledge the use of data from the Chinese
Meridian Project ([Link] (accessed on 1 January 2021)).
Acknowledgments: We are very grateful to the reviewers who significantly contributed to the
improvement of this paper.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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