This paper reports mesospheric bore events observed by Day/Night Band (DNB) of the Visible/Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NOAA/NASA) Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) environmental satellite over five years (2013–2017). Two types of special mesospheric bore events were observed, enabled by the wide field of view of VIIRS: extremely wide bores (>2000 km extension perpendicular to the bore propagation direction), and those exhibiting more than 15 trailing crests and troughs. A mesospheric bore event observed simultaneously from space and ground was investigated in detail. DNB enables the preliminary global observation of mesospheric bores for the first time. DNB mesospheric bores occurred more frequently in March, April and May. Their typical lengths are between 300 km and 1200 km. The occurrence rate of bores at low latitudes is higher than that at middle latitudes. Among the 61 bore events, 39 events occurred in the tropical region (20°S–20°N). The high occurrence rate of mesospheric bores during the spring months in the tropical region coincides with the reported seasonal and latitudinal variations of mesospheric inversion layers.

Using the ERA-Interim total column ozone data, the spatial distributions of the long-term mean of the global total ozone in summer are analyzed. The results demonstrate that there are three midlatitude ozone “valleys” on earth—they are centered over the Tibetan Plateau (TIP), the Rocky Mountains (ROM), and the Southwest Pacific (SWP), respectively. The interdecadal variations of the three ozone valleys are positively modulated by the solar radiation, and the TIP ozone’s correlation with the solar radiation gets maximized with a two-year lag. The interdecadal variation of the SWP ozone valley has a significantly negative relationship with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the South Pacific quadrupole (SPQ). Warm sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) associated with the SPQ strengthen the vertical ascending motion, which dilutes the high concentration ozone at high altitudes. The interdecadal variation of the ROM ozone valley is positively correlated with the PDO, leading by three years. The ROM ozone content is also modulated by SSTAs in the Indian Ocean basin (IOB) by the circumglobal teleconnection (CGT). The observed regional SSTAs can exert a significant impact on the regional and even global circulation, via which the ozone content in midlatitudes also varies.