Member

SATO, Kaoru

Professor
Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Group

Office: -847
E-mail:
HP: http://www-aos.eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~sato-lab/en/

Research Field

Atmospheric Dynamics, Middle Atmosphere Sciences

Current Research

The atmosphere covered by meteorology is the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and lower thermosphere from the ground to a height of about 100 km. The atmosphere excluding the troposphere is called the middle atmosphere. Various disturbances such as atmospheric waves, instabilities, and turbulence are deeply involved to determine the atmospheric temperature and wind structure and the general circulation over the globe. In our laboratory, we study the global characteristics and hierarchical structure of these atmospheric disturbances and general circulation as well as the dynamics of remote coupling of the atmosphere. The middle atmosphere, especially the mesosphere, has been an unknown region for a long time because it is difficult to observe and model. However, recent studies have gradually revealed that it is a dynamic region with high variability like the troposphere. We are working on the dynamics of the entire middle atmosphere, including the tropopause, by using theories, high-resolution observations, high-resolution atmospheric general circulation models, data assimilation, and deep learning. Understanding the dynamics of the entire atmosphere will not only enable earlier and more accurate seasonal weather forecasts, but will also contribute to reducing uncertainty in future climate predictions. In addition, we have installed the world's first large atmospheric radar, the PANSY radar, at Syowa Station in the Antarctic which is climatologically important but difficult to observe due to its harsh environment. We are promoting precise and continuous observations by the PANSY radar for the entire atmosphere of the Antarctic.

Representative Publications

1. Sato, K., and S. Hirano (2019), The climatology of Brewer-Dobson circulation and the contribution of gravity waves, Atmos. Chem, Phys., 19, 4517-4539. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4517-2019.
2. Sato, K., M. Kohma, M. Tsutsumi, and T. Sato (2017), Frequency spectra and vertical profiles of wind fluctuations in the summer Antarctic mesosphere revealed by MST radar observations, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 122, 3-19, doi:10.1002/2016JD025834
3. Sato, K., M. Tsutsumi, T. Sato, T. Nakamura, A. Saito, Y. Tomikawa, K. Nishimura, M. Kohma, H. Yamagishi and T. Yamanouchi, Program of the Antarctic Syowa MST/IS Radar (PANSY) (2014), J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys., 118, PartA, 2-15, doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2013.08.022.