Assessment of the non-hydrostatic effect on the upper atmosphere using a general circulation model (GCM)

Abstract

Under hydrostatic equilibrium, a typical assumption used in global thermosphere ionosphere models, the pressure gradient in the vertical direction is exactly balanced by the gravity force. Using the non-hydrostatic Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model (GITM), which solves the complete vertical momentum equation, the primary characteristics of non-hydrostatic effects on the upper atmosphere are investigated. Our results show that after a sudden intense enhancement of high-latitude Joule heating, the vertical pressure gradient force can locally be 25% larger than the gravity force, resulting in a significant disturbance away from hydrostatic equilibrium. This disturbance is transported from the lower altitude source region to high altitudes through an acoustic wave, which has been simulated in a global circulation model for the first time. Due to the conservation of perturbation energy, the magnitude of the vertical wind perturbation increases with altitude and reaches 150 (250) m/s at 300 (430) km during the disturbance. The upward neutral wind lifts the atmosphere and raises the neutral density at high altitudes by more than 100%. These large vertical winds are not typically reproduced by hydrostatic models of the thermosphere and ionosphere. Our results give an explanation of the cause of such strong vertical winds reported in many observations. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.