CEDAR: Analysis of Nightglow Imagery and Coordinated Optical and Radar Data to Investigate the Propagation and Sources of Small-Scale Gravity Waves

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The investigators will use existing coordinated measurements from low-, mid- and high-latitude instrument cluster sites to investigate the impact of short-period gravity waves on the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region. In particular, the study concentrates on the sources and seasonal variability of these waves. Instruments to be used include airglow imagers, wind and temperature lidars, and radars. The investigators will use coincident observations of gravity waves and height-resolved measurements of the wind and temperature field throughout the MLT region. By together data available from several key sites with state-of-the-art modeling capabilities, they will study the regional effects of wind filtering on the wave flux transfer into the MLT and identify their dominant sources under differing source conditions. The study is essential to understand the observed seasonal variability and to help quantify the regional impact of small-scale gravity waves on the MLT region. These results will have application to studies of global change and space weather effects on technical systems.