Austral Mid-Latitude Atmospheric Dynamics

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The centerpiece of this project is the continuation of year-round operations and calibration of a high resolution Fabry-Perot spectrometer at the University of Canterbury's Mount John Astronomical Observatory, NZ (44 deg S) that the PI has been conducting for the last 14 years. These observations will lay the foundation for the derivation of a statistically meaningful long-term mesospheric and lower thermospheric climatology including both winds and temperatures for the Mid-latitude Southern hemisphere atmosphere. Comparison between Mount John (southern hemisphere) and Fritz Peak (northern hemisphere) wind and temperature climatologies will be used to investigate inter-hemispherical differences in atmospheric dynamical behavior. Additional objectives that will be explored as part of this project include: comparison between simultaneous common volume observations of winds with the optical technique and both meteor and MF radar techniques at and near Mount John; combining radar and optical techniques to determine and characterize airglow altitude dependencies; and comparison with planned optical imager investigations at Mount John to investigate short-periodicity wind and temperature oscillations that have recently been discovered in the observations. The planned activities will be conducted as part of an established U.S.-New Zealand international cooperative project. In addition, through international cooperation and collaboration under the aegis of the Antarctic Aeronomy Consortium the observations in New Zealand (Mount John, Birdlings Flat) will be combined with observations in Australia (Adelaide, Beveridge), Argentina (El Leoncito, Buenos Aires) and Antarctica (Scott Base, Arrival Heights, Mawson, Davis, South Pole) to extend the climatological studies of planetary-scale and tidal wave activity to cover large fractions of both the midlatitude and high-latitude Southern Hemisphere. Collaboration with a theoretical modeling scientist to further interpret and investigate the implications of the observational findings has also been established. Graduate and undergraduate students will participate both in the observational and data analysis parts of the planned research program. Knowledge of atmospheric behavior at Southern Hemisphere latitudes is an important ingredient in fully understanding Global Climate Change and its human implications.