On the sensitivity of global Positioning System radio occultation data to infer mountain wave activity

P. ALEXANDER; A. DE LA TORRE; R. HIERRO; P. LLAMEDO

Moscú

Congreso; COSPAR; 2014

There is a mid-latitude region to the East of the Andes Range in the Southern Hemisphere that exhibits ideal conditions for the generation of gravity waves by topography mainly during winter. The configuration favors the generation of wavefronts that are parallel to the North-South direction. Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) retrievals from the COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate) mission exhibit an orientation which should be favorable to the detection of these wavefronts in the middle atmosphere. We try to verify if this seasonal and regional effect emerges clearly in the GPS RO data in this zone between years 2007 and 2012. We suggest a new interpretation of the gravity wave energy distribution observed by GPS RO. In following this alternative the searched effect becomes quite clear.