Rayleigh and Sodium Lidar Studies of the Troposphere, Stratosphere and Mesosphere at the Amundsen-Scott South PoleStation

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This grant provides funds for the analysis of the data obtained from a sodium lidar the was operated at South Pole throughout 1990 and also to begin the development of improved lidar systems for a new South Pole lidar facility. The earlier instrument made measurements of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), which play an important role in the development of the annual stratospheric ozone hole, and also measured the motions of the sodium layer near the mesopause (approximately 90 km altitude) to elucidate the dynamics of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MALT) region. It is expected that the proposed new lidar facility will be built in conjunction with colleagues from the University of Rome with the support of the Italian Antarctic Program. The improved lidar systems will be able to measure high altitude temperatures and also determine the characteristics of stratospheric aerosols as well as detect PSCs and the sodium layer. These studies are important for the understanding of stratospheric chemistry and the causes of polar ozone depletion and for understanding the dynamics of the MALT region. There will be a significant contribution to the Coupling of Energetics and Dynamics through Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) initiative. This project is jointly supported by NSF's Divisions of Polar Programs and Atmospheric Sciences.