Na Lidar Studies of the Antarctic Upper Atmosphere at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

该项目的目的是在南极站安装和运行一台钠激光雷达，以研究高层大气的动力学行为。激光雷达可以探测到海拔约90公里的钠层，并通过测量钠层的高度和密度来确定高层大气的垂直运动。由于这位研究人员发现，1987年7月，北极地区斯瓦尔巴特群岛以上的钠含量急剧下降了50倍，因此最近人们对这一课题的兴趣有所增加。造成这一损失的原因尚不清楚，重要的是确定南极上空是否也出现了类似的现象。这些结果，特别是对大气重力波的研究，可能会为揭示南极臭氧层空洞的动力学特征提供一些线索。这项研究得到了极地项目部和大气科学部的联合支持

The purpose of this project is to install and operate a sodium lidar at the South Pole Station to study the dynamical behavior of the upper atmosphere. The lidar can detect the sodium layer at about 90 kilometers altitude, and by measuring the height and density of the layer determine the vertical motion of the upper atmosphere. There has been a recent increase in interest in this subject due to the discovery, by this investigator, that there was a dramatic decrease, by a factor of 50, in sodium above Svalbard in the arctic during July of 1987. The reason for this loss is unknown, and it is important to determine whether a similar phenomenon occurs over the antarctic. The results, particularly the study of atmospheric gravity waves, may shed some light on the dynamical characteristics of the antarctic ozone hole. This research is jointly supported by the Division of Polar Programs and the Division of Atmospheric Sciences