Climatology of diurnal tide and its long-term variability in the lower middle atmosphere over a tropical station

ECMWF reanalysis (ERA–interim) data of winds for two solar cycles (1991–2012) are harmonically analyzed to delineate the characteristics and variability of diurnal tide over a tropical site (13.5° N, 79.5° E). The diurnal cycle horizontal winds measured by Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E) mesosphere–stratosphere–troposphere (MST) radar between May 2005 and April 2006 have been used to compute 24 h tidal amplitudes and phases and compared with the corresponding results obtained from ERA winds. The climatological diurnal tidal amplitudes and phases have been estimated from surface to ∼33 km using ERA interim data. The amplitudes and phases obtained in the present study are found to compare reasonably well with Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM–09). Diurnal tides show larger amplitudes in the lower troposphere below 5 km during summer and in the mid-stratosphere mainly during equinoctial months and early winter. Water vapor and convection in the lower troposphere are observed to play major roles in exciting 24-h tide. Correlations between diurnal amplitude and integrated water vapor and between diurnal amplitude and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) are 0.59 and −0.34, respectively. Ozone mixing ratio correlates (ρ = 0.66) well with diurnal amplitude and shows annual variation in the troposphere whereas semi-annual variation is observed at stratospheric heights with stronger peaks in equinoctial months. A clear annual variation of diurnal amplitude is displayed in the troposphere and interannual variability becomes prominent in the stratosphere which could be partly due to the influence of equatorial stratospheric QBO. The influence of solar activity on diurnal oscillations is found to be insignificant.