Abstract

This paper characterizes the impacts of sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) and mesospheric coolings (MCs) on the light species distribution (i.e., helium [He], and atomic hydrogen [H]) of the thermosphere using a combined data‐modeling approach. Performing a set of numerical experiments with a general circulation model whose middle atmospheric dynamical and thermodynamical fields were constrained using a numerical weather prediction system, we simulate the effects of SSWs and MCs on light chemical species, and via comparisons with two data sets taken from the mesosphere and thermosphere, we quantify the associated variability in light species abundances and mass density. Large depletions in the observed and modeled polar H abundance in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) occur with MC onset, as opposed to SSW onset. Depletions in all light thermospheric species at high northern latitudes extend up to the exobase in our model simulations during the January 2013 SSW/MC period, with the largest depletions simulated for the lightest species. Further, our modeling work substantiates the paradigm of increased mixing in the MLT driven by a meridional residual circulation during SSWs resulting from enhanced small‐scale gravity wave and migrating semidiurnal tidal forcing; the former being the primary driver and the latter of secondary but notable importance in our model simulations. SSW/MC induced light species variability then gets projected upward into the thermosphere through molecular diffusion. Modeled light species variability during the January 2013 SSW/MC event suggests SSW/MC signatures could be present in the topside ionosphere and plasmasphere.