Seasonal variability of vertical eddy diffusivity in the middle atmosphere: 1. Three‐year observations by the middle and upper atmosphere radar

Abstract
The vertical eddy diffusivity K due to atmospheric turbulence with spatial scales of 100–102 m has been computed from the echo power spectral width observed by the middle and upper atmosphere radar for almost every month from January 1986 to December 1988. The method of analysis follows Lilly et al. [1974], Sato and Woodman [1982], and Hocking [1983a, 1985, 1988], and the contamination due to beam broadening, vertical shear, and transience has been removed. Although observations for horizontal wind speeds larger than approximately 40 m/s, such as occur near the tropopause jet stream in winter, have been omitted because of excessive beam broadening, sufficient numbers of observations have been accumulated to produce a reasonable climatology for the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (6–20 km altitude) and for the mesosphere (60–82 km altitude). The monthly median of K shows a local maximum near the tropopause jet stream altitude. It becomes larger in the mesosphere, increasing gradually with height. Maxima of K are observed in winter near the tropopause and in summer in the mesosphere, and the seasonal variability of K reaches approximately an order of magnitude. A semiannual variability is apparent in the mesosphere with minima in the equinoctial seasons.