Retrieval of mesospheric temperature from meteor radar and comparison with TIMED/SABER observation

Unlike other ground-based optical instruments that are affected by weather conditions, a meteor radar (MR) has the capability of monitoring mesospheric temperature continuously. However, to date, lack of reliable temperature measurements has limited the applicability of MR to its full usefulness. Following a recently developed theory of meteor height distribution, here we present a practical implementation of temperature measurement at the peak meteor heights ($89\pm 1$ km). For the first time, this technique rigorously takes into account the seasonal variability of the meteor mass function (i.e. sensitivity variation) to correct for the systematic biases in meteor radar temperatures. The precision of the measured temperature varies between 4 and 6 per cent. Comparison of SABER measurements on board the TIMED satellite showed that 85 per cent of all simultaneous MR/SABER observations agree within the limit of this precision. In addition, the MR temperature during the well-known Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) in January 2010 has been analysed. The calibrated temperature is shown to correctly replicate the expected prolonged cooling effect in the mesosphere prior to the maximum warming in the stratosphere.