Coordinated optical and radar image measurements of noctilucent clouds and polar mesospheric summer echoes

Taylor, Mike; Zhao, Yucheng; Pautet, Pierre-Dominique; Nicolls, M. J.; Collins, R. L.; Barker-Tvedtnes, Jodie; Burton, Christopher; Thurairajah, B.; Reimuller, Jason; Varney, R. H.; Heinselman, C. J.; Mizutani, K.

doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2008.12.005

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…This dataset, obtained at ALOMAR, was extended by von Zahn and Bremer (1999) presenting 22 cases and defining three types of layers, namely PMSE and NLC in a common volume, which accounted for 63% of all cases, layers with temporal differences (16%) and spatial differences (21%). PMSE and NLC have also been observed at other locations, among them Spitsbergen , Poker Flat, Alaska (Taylor et al, 2009) and Antarctica (Klekociuk et al, 2008). In all observations, a striking coincidence of lower boundaries of both PMSE and NLC layers were observed at times, but not always.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 50%

Coincident measurements of PMSE and NLC above ALOMAR (69° N, 16° E) by radar and lidar from 1999–2008

et al. 2011

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Abstract. Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes (PMSE) and Noctilucent Clouds (NLC) have been routinely measured at the ALOMAR research facility in Northern Norway (69 • N, 16 • E) by lidar and radar, respectively. 2900 h of lidar measurements by the ALOMAR Rayleigh/Mie/Raman lidar were combined with almost 18 000 h of radar measurements by the ALWIN VHF radar, all taken during the years 1999 to 2008, to study simultaneous and common-volume observations of both phenomena. PMSE and NLC are known from both theory and observations to be positively linked. We quantify the occurrences of PMSE and/or NLC and relations in altitude, especially with respect to the lower layer boundaries. The PMSE occurrence rate is with 75.3% considerably higher than the NLC occurrence rate of 19.5%. For overlapping PMSE and NLC observations, we confirm the coincidence of the lower boundaries and find a standard deviation of 1.26 km, hinting at very fast sublimation rates. However, 10.1% of all NLC measurements occur without accompanying PMSE. Comparison of occurrence rates with solar zenith angle reveals that NLC without PMSE mostly occur around midnight indicating that the ice particles were not detected by the radar due to the reduced electron density.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 50%

Coincident measurements of PMSE and NLC above ALOMAR (69° N, 16° E) by radar and lidar from 1999–2008

et al. 2011

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“…Figure 5 shows NLC observations by the RMR lidar. The vertical dashed line marks the WADIS-1 launch and one can see that the NLC was co-located with the lower PMSE layer, which is a common feature (see e.g., von Zahn and Bremer, 1999;Lübken et al, 2004;She et al, 2006;Taylor et al, 2009;Robertson et al, 2009;Kaifler et al, 2011). Figure 6 also shows EISCAT measurements in terms of radar reflectivity.…”

Section: Launch Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Spatial and temporal variability in MLT turbulence inferred from in situ and ground-based observations during the WADIS-1 sounding rocket campaign

et al. 2017

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Abstract. In summer 2013 the WADIS-1 sounding rocket campaign was conducted at the Andøya Space Center (ACS) in northern Norway (69 • N, 16 • E). Among other things, it addressed the question of the variability in mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT) turbulence, both in time and space. A unique feature of the WADIS project was multi-point turbulence sounding applying different measurement techniques including rocket-borne ionization gauges, VHF MAARSY radar, and VHF EISCAT radar near Tromsø. This allowed for horizontal variability to be observed in the turbulence field in the MLT at scales from a few to 100 km. We found that the turbulence dissipation rate, ε varied in space in a wavelike manner both horizontally and in the vertical direction. This wavelike modulation reveals the same vertical wavelengths as those seen in gravity waves. We also found that the vertical mean value of radar observations of ε agrees reasonably with rocket-borne measurements. In this way defined ε radar value reveals clear tidal modulation and results in variation by up to 2 orders of magnitude with periods of 24 h. The ε radar value also shows 12 h and shorter (1 to a few hours) modulations resulting in one decade of variation in ε radar magnitude. The 24 h modulation appeared to be in phase with tidal change of horizontal wind observed by SAURA-MF radar. Such wavelike and, in particular, tidal modulation of the turbulence dissipation field in the MLT region inferred from our analysis is a new finding of this work.

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“…Hoppe and Fritts, 1995;Klekociuk et al, 2008). Combined studies with lidar, radar and cameras were presented by Taylor et al (2009) and Baumgarten et al (2009Baumgarten et al ( , 2012 and are complicated by the requirement of daylight-capable instruments. Additionally, studies of instabilities or turbulence require high spatial and/or temporal resolution.…”

Section: N Kaifler Et Al: Small-scale Waves In Nlcmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A full evaluation again requires additional spatial information of the NLC structures and detailed wind speeds, which can be obtained from satellite or ground-based photography and radars, respectively. For studies of such combined observations, we refer to Taylor et al (2009, 2012.…”

Section: Zonal Transport Of Nlcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of waves in lidar observations of noctilucent clouds at scales from seconds to minutes

et al. 2013

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Abstract. We present small-scale structures and waves observed in noctilucent clouds (NLC) by lidar at an unprecedented temporal resolution of 30 s or less. The measurements were taken with the Rayleigh/Mie/Raman lidar at the ALO-MAR observatory in northern Norway (69 • N) in the years 2008-2011. We find multiple layer NLC in 7.9 % of the time for a brightness threshold of δ β = 12 × 10 −10 m −1 sr −1 . In comparison to 10 min averaged data, the 30 s dataset shows considerably more structure. For limited periods, quasimonochromatic waves in NLC altitude variations are common, in accord with ground-based NLC imagery. For the combined dataset, on the other hand, we do not find preferred periods but rather significant periods at all timescales observed (1 min to 1 h). Typical wave amplitudes in the layer vertical displacements are 0.2 km with maximum amplitudes up to 2.3 km. Average spectral slopes of temporal altitude and brightness variations are −2.01 ± 0.25 for centroid altitude, −1.41 ± 0.24 for peak brightness and −1.73 ± 0.25 for integrated brightness. Evaluating a new single-pulse detection system, we observe altitude variations of 70 s period and spectral slopes down to a scale of 10 s. We evaluate the suitability of NLC parameters as tracers for gravity waves.

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Coordinated optical and radar image measurements of noctilucent clouds and polar mesospheric summer echoes

Cited by 13 publications

References 82 publications

Coincident measurements of PMSE and NLC above ALOMAR (69° N, 16° E) by radar and lidar from 1999–2008

Coincident measurements of PMSE and NLC above ALOMAR (69° N, 16° E) by radar and lidar from 1999–2008

Spatial and temporal variability in MLT turbulence inferred from in situ and ground-based observations during the WADIS-1 sounding rocket campaign

Quantification of waves in lidar observations of noctilucent clouds at scales from seconds to minutes

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