Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3156
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3156
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
11 Jun 2026
| 11 Jun 2026
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Inferring heating and cooling rates at the MLT from multistatic meteor radar observations and intercomparison to SE-WACCM-X and JAWARA
Abstract. Continuous measurements of vertical wind in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere are rare and technically challenging. However, multistatic meteor radar networks, such as the Nordic Meteor Radar Cluster, offer a unique opportunity to use advanced tomographic wind retrieval methods to determine neutral winds, including vertical wind components. The Spherical Volume Velocity Processing technique is a newly developed tomographic algorithm that enables the extraction of Doppler-based vertical winds and the computation of vertical winds from horizontal divergence through vertical integration.
In this study, we present an intercomparison of various vertical wind retrieval methods to evaluate remaining biases and to quantify the magnitude of summer mesospheric vertical upwelling and corresponding downwelling. The retrieved wind data are compared with the Japanese meteorological reanalysis known as JAWARA, as well as a year of free-running SE-WACCM-X model data. Our findings indicate a strong agreement concerning the seasonal patterns of horizontal winds between the Nordic Meteor Radar Cluster and both models. The observed vertical wind velocities range from 2 to 15 cm/s. Additionally, measurements from the Nordic Meteor Radar Cluster show cooling and heating rates of -40 to 100 K/day during summer and 5 to 20 K/day in the winter months.
How to cite. Stober, G., Liu, H., Qiao, Z., Sato, K., Pearl Poku, L., Krochin, W., Liu, A., Kozlovsky, A., Janches, D., Zeng, J., Yi, W., Tsutsumi, M., Gulbrandsen, N., Nozawa, S., Lester, M., Kero, J., and Mitchell, N.: Inferring heating and cooling rates at the MLT from multistatic meteor radar observations and intercomparison to SE-WACCM-X and JAWARA, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3156, 2026.
Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.
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Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Switzerland
Hanli Liu
High Altitude Observatory, NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Zishun Qiao
High Altitude Observatory, NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Kaoru Sato
Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Loretta Pearl Poku
Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Switzerland
Witali Krochin
Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Switzerland
Alan Liu
Center for Space and Atmospheric Research, Department of Physical Sciences, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA
Alexander Kozlovsky
Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
Diego Janches
ITM Physics Laboratory, Mail Code 675, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
National Key Laboratory of Deep Space Exploration, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
Anhui Mengcheng National Geophysical Observatory and Research Station, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
National Key Laboratory of Deep Space Exploration, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
Anhui Mengcheng National Geophysical Observatory and Research Station, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
Masaki Tsutsumi
National Institute of Polar Research, Tachikawa, Japan
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Tokyo, Japan
Njål Gulbrandsen
Tromsø Geophysical Observatory UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
Satonori Nozawa
Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Japan
Mark Lester
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Johan Kero
Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Kiruna, Sweden
Nicholas Mitchell
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Short summary
Vertical winds are a crucial atmospheric parameter in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere and are connected to adiabatic heating and cooling of the atmosphere. Mesospheric temperatures are affected by the vertical transport driven by a pole-to-pole circulation with upwelling in the summer hemisphere and downwelling in the winter hemisphere. We present results based on a new retrieval technique for the seasonal climatological vertical winds and an intercomparison to current state-of-the-art models.
Vertical winds are a crucial atmospheric parameter in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere and are...
General comments
The paper by Stober et al. uses a multistatic meteor radar network to investigate cooling and heating rates in the MLT. To infer these rates, the authors use estimates of the vertical wind, which is a crucial parameter for understanding and monitoring the dynamical and thermodynamical state of the MLT, while at the same time being a difficult parameter to obtain. To estimate the vertical wind, they applied a recently improved algorithm, the Spherical Volume Velocity Processing (SVVP). Results from the meteor radars observations were also compared with model simulations. The paper is well structured and the results provide important contributions to the monitoring of the dynamics and thermodynamics of the MLT. Prior to publication, however, there are some points that should be addressed and clarified.
Specific comments
Concerning the procedure used to implement calibration and bias correction to obtain w_div. There are some points that should be clarified. Eq (1) gives Δw=w_div-w_ref. w_ref is calculated assuming w=0 from 80 to 100 km. Therefore, w_div=Δw+w_ref for each level, is this correct? If so, a more detailed description of this procedure should be provided in the manuscript.
Regarding the estimates of the cooling/heating rates, the authors should provide more details on how these rates are obtained from the vertical wind. The basic equations used to estimate these rates should be provided in the manuscript.
On page 12, in the analysis of the cooling and heating rates, the authors compare their results with SABER data. However, they do not cite the reference paper used for this comparison.
In the Figure 7, I suggest keeping the same range for the vertical wind and cooling/heating rates.
Technical comments
pag. 4, line 78, "nuetal” ->neutral
pag. 7 line 143 “Here is Δw, the relative…”-> “Here, Δw is the relative..
Fig.2 Does the black continuous line indicate zero wind? If so, this should be informed in the text and in the Figure’s caption.
There are other figures where black lines appear.
Fig.5 Does the black continuous line indicate the March 0.3 threshold?
There are several abbreviations/acronyms whose meanings are either not provided or are not defined at their first occurrence. Example:, MAARSY, PMSE, PANSY in the introduction. HPLA also appears in the introduction, but its meaning is informed in the discussion, at page 14.