A climatology of medium-scale gravity wave activity in the midlatitude/low-latitude daytime upper thermosphere as observed by CHAMP

We report on a detailed global climatology of medium‐scale (150–600 km) thermospheric gravity wave (GW) activity using mass density observations onboard the CHAMP satellite from 2001 to 2010. Our study focuses mainly on daytime (09–18 h in local time) and midlatitude/low‐latitude upper thermosphere between 300 km and 400 km altitudes. Midlatitude GW activity is strongest in the winter hemisphere. GW activity during June solstice adjacent to the Andes and Antarctic Peninsula is stronger than in any other season or location. GW activity in the low‐latitude summer hemisphere is stronger above continents than above oceans: especially during December solstice and equinoxes. In terms of relative density variation, GW activity is stronger during solar minimum than solar maximum. These results agree well with the characteristics of stratospheric GWs, implying that the CHAMP GWs are mainly caused by GWs from tropospheric/stratospheric processes. Using mesosphere/lower thermosphere wind observations at a Korean Antarctic station, we investigated at which altitudes the upper thermospheric GW climatology becomes visible. While the correlation is insignificant at z=82–88 km, it becomes significant for most cases at z=90–98 km, suggesting that the upper thermospheric GW climatology may start to emerge at z≥90 km. Key Points Thermospheric gravity wave maps for different seasons Similarity between thermospheric and stratospheric gravity wave distributions Observational constraints on gravity wave dynamics