Evaluation of wind and temperature profiles from ECMWF analysis on two hemispheres using volcanic infrasound

Abstract In this paper, we evaluate vertical wind and temperature profiles that are produced by the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) atmospheric analysis. The evaluation is carried out on both hemispheres: we make use of stratospheric infrasound arrivals from Mount Etna (37°N) and Mount Yasur (22°S). The near‐continuous, high activity of both volcanoes permits the study of stratospheric propagation along well‐defined paths with a time resolution ranging from hours to multiple years. Infrasound observables are compared to theoretical estimates obtained from acoustic propagation modeling using the ECMWF analysis. While a first‐order agreement is found for both hemispheres, we report on significant discrepancies around some of the equinox periods and other intervals during which the atmosphere is in a state of transition and dynamical oscillations of the atmosphere dominate over the general circulation. We present an inversion study in which we make use of measured trace velocity estimates to estimate first‐order effective sound speed model updates in a Bayesian framework. Deviations from the a priori models around the stratopause up to 10% (≈ 30 m s −1 ) are estimated. Such updates are in line with the results from comparisons between ECMWF analysis and observations from lidar and microwave Doppler spectroradiometer facilities that were colocated during the course of the 2012–2013 Atmospheric dynamics Research and InfraStructure in Europe (ARISE) measurement campaign.