Collaborative Research: Deep Propagating Gravity Wave (DEEPWAVE)

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DEEP propagating gravity WAVE (DEEPWAVE) is an interdisciplinary project addressing the propagation and effects of gravity waves (GW) extending from their generation in the troposphere to their breakdown in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). The project is designed by experts on the MLT and the lower atmosphere. These research communities have not worked closely together before, but a coupled approach is required to address these dynamics in a comprehensive and consistent manner. GWs strongly influence the dynamics and climate throughout the atmosphere. DEEPWAVE will provide a more complete understanding of GW generation, propagation, breakdown, and energy and momentum transport in the presence of large topography, cyclones, and strong wind shears than has been possible previously. At the core of the project is a 6-week deployment of the NSF Gulfstream V (GV) research aircraft to Christchurch in June and July 2014. The GV flights will take place over mountain wave locations over and downwind of New Zealand, Tasmania, and islands in the Southern Ocean as well as the southern circumpolar jet that is an additional strong GW source. Recent satellite remote sensing has identified this region as a primary global "hotspot" of GWs reaching high altitudes. Using the GV in situ instruments, dropsondes, and three new airborne remote sensing instruments, nearly the full vertical propagation path of GWs can be observed. The GV will fly at altitudes from 9-13 km with in situ instruments observing the structure and fluxes of GWs up to ~18 km. On the GV, high-power Rayleigh and Na resonance lidars and an advanced mesospheric temperature mapper (AMTM) will map out GW structures from ~15 to 100 km. These state-of-the-art measurements will be supplemented by ground-based balloon and remote sensing instruments. This 4-year research program includes DEEPWAVE measurements in 2014, and extensive analysis efforts and associated modeling to quantify the observed dynamics thereafter. All DEEPWAVE data will be made available in a timely fashion. In addition to the investigators supported by this collaborative award, participants supported by NRL as well as international collaborators from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Germany and the UK will be closely involved in the DEEPWAVE project.