Global structure and seasonal variations of the migrating 6-h tide observed by SABER/TIMED

Ten years of SABER/TIMED temperature data are used to analyze the global structure and seasonal variations of the migrating 6-h tide from the stratosphere to the lower thermosphere. The amplitudes of the migrating 6-h tide increase with altitudes. In the stratosphere, the migrating 6-h tide peaks around 35 degrees N/S. The climatologically annual mean of the migrating 6-h tide clearly shows the manifestation of the (4, 6) Hough mode between 70 and 90 km that peaks at the equator and near 35 degrees N/S. Above 90 km, the 6-h tide shows more than one Hough mode with the (4, 6) mode being the dominant one. The migrating 6-h tide is stronger in the southern hemisphere. Annual, semiannual, 4-, and 3-month oscillations are the four dominant seasonal variations of the tidal amplitude. In the stratosphere and stratopause, the spring enhancement of the 6-h tide at middle latitudes is the most conspicuous feature. From the mesosphere to the lower thermosphere, the tidal amplitude at low latitudes is gradually in the scale of that at middle latitudes and exhibits different temporal variations at different altitudes and latitudes. Both ozone heating in the stratosphere and the background atmosphere probably affect the generation and the seasonal variations of the migrating 6-h tide. In addition, the non-linear interaction between different tidal harmonics is another possible mechanism.