Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufmsa52a..06w&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #SA52A-06
Physics
0310 Airglow And Aurora, 3334 Middle Atmosphere Dynamics (0341, 0342), 3369 Thermospheric Dynamics (0358), 3379 Turbulence, 3384 Waves And Tides
Scientific paper
TOMEX combined Na lidar temperature and wind measurements from Starfire Optical Range in Albuquerque NM, with a launch of a payload from White Sands Missile Range that included a TMA release to measure winds and diffusion, an ionization gauge to measure neutral densities, and a photometer to measure atomic oxygen related airglow. The objective was to study the relation between unstable regions in the 80 to 110 km region and the generation of turbulence and enhanced eddy diffusion and mixing. The main findings are - A strong wave persisted for several tens of minutes prior to launch. Associated with this wave were a region of convective instability and regions of dynamical instability. During flight, large unstable shears and a strong wind ( 100 m/s) were present. - Billow features were observed just above the altitude of the persistent convective instability. - The puffed TMA trail indicates low diffusion below the turbopause, except where the unstable shear was located, consistent with lidar observations showing low fluctuation levels and generally stable conditions. The ionization gauge data show variances that peak in two distinct regions on both the up and downleg. The lower of the two peaks is at and just above the region of convective instability. -The photometer data show that the peak emission for the O2A (0,0) band is about 4 km below the nominal peak, suggesting that a considerable amount of O has been transported downward. The OI greenline volume emission rates show a peak near 97 km and a second just below 90 km, with no emission evident at 93 km. The measurements show a complex interplay of phenomena acting on various scales. These include tides, gravity waves, instability structures and turbulence. The relevant phenomenology of the mesopause region, the interrelations of the observed phenomena, and questions that remain unanswered will be discussed
Clemons J. H.
Hecht James H.
Larsen Mark F.
Liu Alan Z.
Walterscheid Richard L.
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