Kaoru Sato
Commendation
For outstanding contributions to atmospheric dynamics and middle atmosphere science through the realization of a large-scale atmospheric radar in the Antarctic and high-resolution observations and numerical modeling
A list of five representative papers
- Sato, K. (1994), A statistical study of the structure, saturation and sources of inertio-gravity waves in the lower stratosphere observed with the MU radar, J. Atmos. Terr. Phys., 56, 755-774.
- Sato, K., and T. J. Dunkerton (1997), Estimates of momentum flux associated with equatorial Kelvin and gravity waves, J. Geophys. Res., 102, 26,247-26,261.
- Sato, K., S. Watanabe, Y. Kawatani, Y. Tomikawa, K. Miyazaki, and M. Takahashi (2009), On the origins of mesospheric gravity waves, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L19801, doi:10.1029/2009GL039908.
- 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.
- 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:10.1002/2016JD025834.1
Major achievements
Focusing on the importance of understanding the role of the polar regions in the Earth’s climate, Dr. Sato has designed and implemented PANSY, the world’s first and to date the only large-scale Antarctic radar, which has become a global center of excellence in polar meteorological observation. Using high-resolution observation data, she has clarified the basic picture of the seasonal variation and latitudinal dependence of the generation and dynamical properties of atmospheric gravity waves, one of the fundamental waves in the atmosphere, and demonstrated the importance of gravity waves in atmospheric dynamics including that in the jet stream and equatorial stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillations. Furthermore, she promoted the use of high-resolution middle atmosphere general circulation models in gravity wave research, and elucidated the global momentum transport by atmospheric gravity waves and their role in the middle atmosphere. Using her original observations and numerical models, she has clarified the role of atmospheric gravity waves in the Earth’s climate. Her work has opened up new frontiers in the atmospheric dynamics and middle atmosphere science. She has played a leading role in the development of research in this field both domestically and internationally, and is highly regarded worldwide.
Nominator
Takeshi Horinouchi