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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 2: Near Earth Space

EP 2.1: Invited Talk

Monday, March 30, 2009, 14:00–14:30, Zahnklinik

Long term changes in mesospheric ice layers: observations and modeling — •Franz-Josef Lübken, Uwe Berger, Jens Fiedler, and Gerd Baumgarten — Leibniz Institute for Atmospheric Physics, 18225 Kühlungsborn, Germany

Mesospheric ice layers appear in the summer season around 83 km at middle and polar latitudes. They have long been disputed to be potential indicators of long term changes. Indeed, various ground based and satellite borne observations show variabilities on decadal time scales, but the results are not unambiguous. We present an update on some observations of ice layers and discuss potential reasons for different conclusions drawn from different data sets. In recent years we have developed a new model called LIMA (Leibniz Institute Model for the Atmosphere) which has successfully been applied to study the morphology of ice layers. We present some new comparisons with observations of ice layer altitudes, occurrence rates etc. LIMA results for nearly 30 years are now available and are used for comparison with satellite and lidar observations. The role of mesospheric ice layers as potential indicators for trends is critically reviewed in the presentation.