Stratospheric and mesospheric concentric gravity waves over tropical cyclone Mahasen: Joint AIRS and VIIRS satellite observations

We report on the first simultaneous spaceborne observations of concentric gravity wave patterns in the stratosphere and mesosphere over the Indian Ocean excited by Tropical Cyclone Mahasen. On the nights of 13-14 May 2013, concentric ring patterns in nightglow were observed in close-proximity to Mahasen by the Day/Night Band (DNB) of the Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite. The waves exhibited horizontal wavelengths of 40-60 km. On 13 May 2013, long concentric waves of ~500 km wavelength were also seen west of India, far away (~1500 km) from their estimated center near Mahasen. Concentric gravity waves in the stratosphere were observed nearly simultaneously by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder on the Aqua satellite. These multi-level observations provide a clearer picture of the complex three-dimensional structure of tropical cyclone-generated gravity waves than a single instrument alone.