Temperature responses to the 11 year solar cycle in the mesosphere from the 31 year (1979–2010) extended Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model simulations and a comparison with the 14 year (2002–2015) TIMED/SABER observations

Abstract A recent 31 year simulation (1979–2010) by extended Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (eCMAM30) and the 14 year (2002–2015) observation by the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere and Dynamics/Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emssion Radiometry (TIMED/SABER) are utilized to investigate the temperature response to the 11 year solar cycle on the mesosphere. Overall, the zonal mean responses tend to increase with height, and the amplitudes are on the order of 1–2 K/100 solar flux unit (1 sfu = 10−22 W m−2 Hz−1) below 80 km and 2–4 K/100 sfu in the mesopause region (80–100 km) from the eCMAM30, comparatively weaker than those from the SABER except in the midlatitude lower mesosphere. A pretty good consistence takes place at around 75–80 km with a response of ~1.5 K/100 sfu within 10°S/N. Also, a symmetric pattern of the responses about the equator agrees reasonably well between the two. It is noteworthy that the eCMAM30 displays an alternate structure with the upper stratospheric cooling and the lower mesospheric warming at midlatitudes of the winter hemisphere, in favor of the long‐term Rayleigh lidar observation reported by the previous studies. Through diagnosing multiple dynamical parameters, it is manifested that this localized feature is induced by the anomalous residual circulation as a consequence of the wave‐mean flow interaction during the solar maximum year.