Dynamically induced hemispheric differences in the seasonal cycle of the summer polar mesopause

• We present an idealized climate model from the surface to the lower thermosphere.
• The summer mesopause in the SH sets in at much higher altitudes than in the NH.
• The summer mesopause in the SH propagates downward and gets warmer over the season.
• Hemispheric differences before solstice reflect Intrahemispheric Coupling.
• Hemispheric differences after solstice are partly due to Interhemispheric Coupling.

A mechanistic atmospheric general circulation model from the surface up to the mesopause region with explicit representations of radiation and the tropospheric moisture cycle is employed to study hemispheric differences during the summer season with focus on dynamical coupling processes in the middle atmosphere. Hemispheric differences are imposed in the model by the geographical distributions of surface parameters. Consistent with reanalyses, we find that prior to summer solstice, the polar troposphere and lower stratosphere are significantly colder in the southern hemisphere than in the northern hemisphere. This induces vertically altering wind and temperature differences between the two hemispheres that are consistent with the recently detected Intrahemispheric Coupling mechanism. In particular, in the southern hemisphere the model yields a high mesopause around solstice which propagates downward over the season. Such a behavior has recently been observed by lidar measurements in Antarctica and is different from the northern hemisphere where the polar mesopause stays at approximately the same altitude over the summer season. After summer solstice, the mesopause is significantly warmer in the southern hemisphere, which is in accordance with Interhemispheric Coupling, i.e., the hemispheric differences after summer solstice are influenced by the strong planetary Rossby-wave activity in the northern stratosphere during boreal winter. Also enhanced filtering of eastward GWs in the southern troposphere contributes to the behavior after solstice. Orbital eccentricity is found to enhance the importance of Intrahemispheric Coupling. A more quantitative description of the hemispheric differences in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere as seen in reanalyses is obtained by adding an additional westward gravity drag in the southern stratosphere. The vertical coupling mechanisms responsible for hemispheric differences apply also in this case.