A 60km wide blindspot in Earth’s atmosphere has been mapped, paving the way for improved weather forecasting.
A team led by University of Tokyo researchers have created an almost 20-year-long set of data spanning multiple levels of the atmosphere from ground level up to the lower edges of space.
Professor Kaoru Sato said the dataset would allow new research to be conducted on previously difficult-to-study regions.
Professor Sato said the data spanned multiple levels of the atmosphere, including a region between about 50km to 110km, which had been so difficult to study, it had previously been dubbed the “ignorosphere”.
“This region is too low for satellites and too high for weather balloons to observe, resulting in a shortage of data and consequently research.
“However, it is a fascinating area, characterized by vast global atmospheric tides and small-scale gravity waves which affect wind and temperature. It also plays an important role in the intensity of the impact of space weather events.”
Professor Sato said complaining about the weather, and about weather forecasters when they get things wrong, was a popular pastime for many, but a meteorologist’s job was not easy.
“Our atmosphere is multilayered, interconnected and complex, and global climate change is making it even harder to forecast both long-term and sudden, extreme weather events.”
She said the new dataset, which combined numerical modelling with observational data, would allow for better research into all the layers of the atmosphere.
“Being able to study the interactions of these layers vertically and around the globe could improve climate modeling and seasonal weather forecasting.
“There is also potential for interdisciplinary research between atmospheric scientists and space scientists, to investigate the interplay between space and our atmosphere and how it affects us on Earth.”
