Articles | Volume 33, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-1091-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-1091-2015
ANGEO Communicates
 | 
10 Sep 2015
ANGEO Communicates |  | 10 Sep 2015

First experimental verification of summertime mesospheric momentum balance based on radar wind measurements at 69° N

M. Placke, P. Hoffmann, and M. Rapp

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Short summary
Imposed momentum from mesospheric breaking gravity waves (GWs) is conserved by a balance between vertical divergence of GW momentum flux and Coriolis acceleration of the mean meridional wind. We present the first experimental verification of the momentum balance from the Saura MF radar at 69°N. For contributions from GWs only this balance is fulfilled between 70 and 100km during summer when GWs dominate the mesospheric dynamics, but it does not exist in winter due to planetary wave impacts.