OREANDA-NEWS Changes in the parameters of the Earth's atmosphere, occurring for more than two weeks, may be the cause of sharp fluctuations in temperature in the Arctic, physicists of St. Petersburg State University (SPbU) came to this conclusion, RIA Novosti was informed by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

Global fluctuations of atmospheric parameters (pressure, density, temperature, wind speed), covering the entire thickness of the atmosphere, are called planetary waves. Such "tides" and "ebbs" can last up to 30 days. Using mathematical modeling methods, the scientists of St. Petersburg State University investigated the influence of a number of planetary waves with periods from 3 to 16 days on the global circulation of the atmosphere.

The simulation was carried out in the Laboratory of Research of the Ozone Layer and the Upper Atmosphere of St. Petersburg State University, created as part of the megagrant program of the Ministry of Education and Science. Separately, physicists studied the contribution of a planetary wave with a period of 16 days, which is regularly observed in the atmosphere, especially intensifying in winter in the northern hemisphere. Such waves have been studied previously using data obtained from satellites and radars, but no one has previously estimated the contribution of a 16-day wave to changes in wind speed and temperature on the planet.

The results of numerical experiments have shown that such waves are capable of causing disturbances in the stratosphere, which, in turn, lead to extreme warming and cooling in the Arctic and in temperate latitudes.