Collaborative Research: An investigation of wave dynamics in the Arctic mesosphere and coupling between the lower and upper polar atmosphere

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The research objective is to utilize a suite of instruments, includingan airglow imager, to investigate short-periodgravity waves in the Arctic atmosphere over Alaska. Short-periodgravity waves are an important component of the larger atmosphericcirculation as these waves are believed to transport a large amount ofvertical moment flux into the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT)region. While the propagation nature and sources of these waves havebeen studied extensively at low- and mid-latitudes, little is known about their behavior at high latitudes. Recent efforts havebegun to characterize the waves over the Antarctic continent, whilethe project proposed here will focus on the Arctic. Specifically, theproposed research will establish a long-term winter time series ofshort-period gravity waves in the Arctic, including their dominantsource regions, and influences of large-scale tidal and planetary wavemotion. The co-located Rayleigh lidar will provide essential highvertical resolution temperature measurements to help elucidate thevertical wave propagation, individual wave contribution to theEliassen-Palm (EP) flux, and coupling between the lower and upperatmosphere during stratospheric warming events.