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Inferring The Global Cosmic Dust Influx To The Earth’S Atmosphere From Lidar Observations Of The Vertical Flux Of Mesospheric Na, Chester S. Gardner, Alan Z. Liu, Dan Marsh, Wuhu Feng, John Plane

Alan Z Liu

Maui Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere (Maui Malt) Observations Of The Evolution Of Kelvin-Helmholtz Billows Formed Near 86 Km Altitude, J. H. Hecht, Alan Z. Liu, R. L. Walterscheid, R. J. Rudy

Alan Z Liu

Small-scale (less than 15 km horizontal wavelength) structures known as ripples have been seen in OH airglow images for nearly 30 years. The structures have been attributed to either convective or dynamical instabilities; the latter are mainly due to large wind shears, while the former are produced by superadiabatic temperature gradients. Dynamical instabilities produce Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) billows, which have been known for many years. However, models and laboratory experiments suggest that these billows often spawn a secondary instability that is convective in nature. While laboratory investigations see evidence of such structures, the evolution of these instabilities in the atmosphere has …

Meteor Trail Advection Observed During The 1998 Leonid Shower, Brent W. Grime, Timothy J. Kane, Alan Liu, George Papen, Chester S. Gardner, Michael C. Kelley, Craig Kruschwitz, Jack Drummond

Alan Z Liu

Sodium resonance lidar observations of meteor trails are reported from the 1998 Leonid shower experimental at the Starfire Optical Range Kirtland Air Force Base, NM (35.0º N, 106.5º W ). The lidar was operating in a spatially scanning mode that allowed tracking for up to one half-hour. Three trails are presented here whose motion allowed inference of radial as well as vector wind components and apparent diffusivities. The winds are derived independently using the narrow linewidth sodium (Na) resonance Doppler lidar technique and are compared with the tracking results.

Unstable Layers In The Mesopause Region Observed With Na Lidar During The Turbulent Oxygen Mixing Experiment (Tomex) Campaign, Alan Z. Liu, Raymond G. Roble, James H. Hecht, Miguel F. Larsen, Chester S. Gardner

Alan Z Liu

The Na wind/temperature lidar located at Starfire Optical Range near Albuquerque, New Mexico, provided real time measurements of wind, temperature, and Na density in the mesopause region during the TOMEX rocket campaign in October 2000. The state of the atmosphere in which the rocket was launched into was examined using the lidar measurements. Both convectively and dynamically unstable layers were observed at various times and altitudes during the night. The low convective stability region below 90 km was found to be associated with the diurnal tide. The unstable layers are the combined results of wave and tidal perturbations. Comparison with …

Tomex: A Comparison Of Lidar And Sounding Rocket Chemical Tracer, M. F. Larsen, Alan Z. Liu, R. L. Bishop, J. H. Hecht

Alan Z Liu

On October 26, 2000, a Black Brant V sounding rocket carrying a chemical tracer release was launched from the rocket range at White Sands, New Mexico, as part of the Turbulent Oxygen Mixing Experiment (TOMEX). The releases occurred approximately 150 km from the location of the Starfire Optical Range where the University of Illinois sodium lidar was operated to measure winds and temperatures in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The geometry for the experiment was such that the lidar beam was able to intersect the release point for the chemical tracer trail on the upleg part of the flight near …