CEDAR: Multi-Diagnostic Investigations of Upper-Atmosphere Dynamics in the Southern Hemisphere

调查人员将在新西兰南岛的约翰山天文台制造、安装和操作最先进的全天成像仪。该仪器将用于测量南半球高层大气的重力波活动和其他几个重要的动力学方面，就高层大气观测而言，南半球是地球上一个没有被充分代表的地区。该成像器将记录五个不同的大气夜辉排放。其中四种排放来自80-100公里的中层和低热层(MLT)区域，第五种排放位于250公里附近的热层。成像测量将与同时进行的多诊断测量相结合，以阐明MLT重力波的发生季节模式和传播特征。短周期大气重力波约占MLT地区总动量收支的70%。还将研究大气层潮汐和行星波的发生和行为，以及与热层动力学有关的几个专题。配置的仪器包括法布里-珀罗涉仪和流星雷达。这些观测结果还将与北半球的测量结果进行比较，以研究MLT动力学的半球间变化。这项研究涉及与新西兰坎特伯雷大学的科学家合作。本科生将协助进行数据处理和分析。调查人员将通过向当地报纸提交特写文章的方式向更广泛的受众展示这项研究，他们还将开发一个专门介绍中层研究的网站。

The investigators will fabricate, install, and operate a state-of-the-art all-sky imager at the Mount John Observatory, South Island, New Zealand. The instrument will be used to survey gravity wave activity and several other important dynamical aspects of the upper atmosphere in the southern hemisphere, a region of the globe under-represented in terms of upper atmospheric observations. The imager will record five separate atmospheric nightglow emissions. Four of the emissions originate from the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region at 80-100 km, and the fifth is located in the thermosphere near 250 km. The imaging measurements will be combined with simultaneous multi-diagnostic measurements to elucidate the seasonal patterns of occurrence and the propagation characteristics of MLT gravity waves. Short-period atmospheric gravity waves contribute approximately 70 percent of the total momentum budget in the MLT region. The occurrence and behavior of atmospheric tides and planetary waves will also be investigated, as well as several topics related to thermospheric dynamics. Collocated instruments include a Fabry-Perot interferometer and a meteor radar. The observations will also be compared with northern hemisphere measurements to study inter-hemispheric variations in MLT dynamics. The study involves a collaboration with scientists at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. An undergraduate student will assist with data processing and analysis. The investigators will expose the research to a wider audience by submitting feature-style articles to local newspapers, and they will develop a website devoted to aspects of mesospheric research.