Nocturnal temperature changes over tropics during CAWSES-III campaign: Comparison with numerical models and satellite data

In the frame of the third CAWSES tidal campaign in June–August 2007, lidar and satellite data were collected and compared with numerical models. Continuous nocturnal middle atmospheric temperature measurements performed with a Rayleigh lidar located at La Reunion Island (20.8°S–55.5°E) were obtained for three subsequent nights. The results clearly show the presence of tidal components with a downward phase propagation. Comparisons with SABER satellite data show good agreement on tidal amplitude; however, some differences on the structures are reported probably due to the zonal nature of the retrieval provided by the SABER data. The observed tidal components are compared with two different numerical models such as the 2D global scale wave model and the 3D-GCM LMDz-REPROBUS. Both models reveal good agreement with temperature lidar patterns, while simulated tidal amplitudes are smaller by a factor of around 2–2.5 K.