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Sodium Lidar-observed Strong Inertia-gravity Wave Activities in the Mesopause Region over Fort Collins, Colorado (41 deg N, 105 deg W)In December 2004, the Colorado State University sodium lidar system at Fort Collins, Colorado (41 deg N, 105 deg W), conducted an approximately 80-hour continuous campaign for the simultaneous observations of mesopause region sodium density, temperature, and zonal and meridional winds. This data set reveals the significant inertia-gravity wave activities with a period of approximately 18 hours, which are strong in both wind components since UT day 338 (second day of the campaign), and weak in temperature and sodium density. The considerable variability of wave activities was observed with both wind amplitudes growing up to approximately 40 m/s at 95-100 km in day 339 and then decreasing dramatically in day 340. We also found that the sodium density wave perturbation is correlated in phase with temperature perturbation below 90 km, and approximately 180 deg out of phase above. Applying the linear wave theory, we estimated the wave horizontal propagation direction, horizontal wavelength, and apparent horizontal phase speed to be approximately 25 deg south of west, approximately 1800 +/- 150 km, and approximately 28 +/- 2 m/s, respectively of wave intrinsic period, intrinsic phase speed, and vertical wavelength were also estimated. While the onset of enhanced inertia-gravity wave amplitude in the night of 338 was observed to be in coincidence with short-period gravity wave breaking via convective instability, the decrease of inertia-gravity wave amplitude after noon of day 339 was also observed to coincide with the development of atmospheric dynamical instability layers with downward phase progression clearly correlated with the 18-hour inertia-gravity wave, suggesting likely breaking of this inertia-gravity wave via dynamical (shear) instability.
Document ID
20080044813
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Li, Tao
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
She, C. -Y.
(Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Liu, Han-Li
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Leblanc, Thierry
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
McDermid, I. Stuart
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
November 24, 2007
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Publisher: American Geophysical Union
Volume: 112
Subject Category
Geophysics
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF ATM-0545221
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-13567
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX07AB64G
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
mesopause region
sodium lidar
inertia - gravity waves

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