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Comparison Of Na Lidar And Meteor Radar Wind Measurements At Starfire Optical Range, Nm, Usa, Alan Z. Liu, Wayne K. Hocking, Steven J. Franke, T. Thayaparan
Comparison Of Na Lidar And Meteor Radar Wind Measurements At Starfire Optical Range, Nm, Usa, Alan Z. Liu, Wayne K. Hocking, Steven J. Franke, T. Thayaparan
Alan Z Liu
Simultaneous wind measurements in the mesopause region at Starfire Optical Range near Albuquerque, NM with Na wind/temperature lidar and meteor radar have been performed and compared. 20 nights of hourly data recorded with these two instruments at two layers around 86 and 93 km altitude are compared for both zonal and meridional wind components. The mean values are found to have no statistically significant differences. The correlation coefficients vary between 0.63 and 0.70, indicating that the two sets of measurements are broadly consistent. When comparing the averaged variations over the night, the two measurements are highly correlated, with correlation coefficients …
Measurements Of Atmospheric Stability In The Mesopause Region At Starfire Optical Range, Nm, Yucheng Zhao, Alan Z. Liu, Chester S. Gardner
Measurements Of Atmospheric Stability In The Mesopause Region At Starfire Optical Range, Nm, Yucheng Zhao, Alan Z. Liu, Chester S. Gardner
Alan Z Liu
The structure and seasonal variations of static (convective) and dynamic (shear) instabilities in the mesopause region (80–105 km) are examined using high-resolution wind and temperature data obtained with a Na lidar at the Starfire Optical Range, NM. The probabilities of static and dynamic instability are sensitive functions of N2/S2, where N is the buoyancy frequency and S is the total vertical shear in the horizontal winds. The mesopause region is most stable in summer when the mesopause is low, N is large and S is small. Monthly mean N2/S2 varies from a maximum value of about 1.06 in mid-summer to …
Vertical Dynamical Transport Of Mesospheric Constituents By Dissipating Gravity Waves, Alan Z. Liu, Chester S. Gardner
Vertical Dynamical Transport Of Mesospheric Constituents By Dissipating Gravity Waves, Alan Z. Liu, Chester S. Gardner
Alan Z Liu
Over 400 h of Na wind/temperature lidar observations, obtained at the Star5re Optical Range, NM, are used to study the vertical dynamical transport of Na in the mesopause region between 85 and 100 km. Dynamical transport occurs when dissipating, non-breaking gravity waves impart a net vertical displacement in atmospheric constituents as they propagate through a region. We show that the vertical constituent flux can be related in a simple way to the vertical heat flux. Breaking gravity waves also contribute to eddy transport by generating turbulence. Because eddy transport is a mixing process, it only occurs in the presence of …
Atmospheric Stability And Gravity Wave Dissipation In The Mesopause Region, Chester S. Gardner, Yucheng Zhao, Alan Z. Liu
Atmospheric Stability And Gravity Wave Dissipation In The Mesopause Region, Chester S. Gardner, Yucheng Zhao, Alan Z. Liu
Alan Z Liu
High-resolution temperature profile data collected at the Urbana Atmospheric Observatory (40ºN, 88ºW) and Starfire Optical Range, NM (35ºN, 106.5ºW) with a Na lidar are used to assess the stability of the mesopause region between 80 and 105 km. The mean diurnal and annual temperature profiles demonstrate that in the absence of gravity wave and tidal perturbations, the background atmosphere is statically stable throughout the day and year. Thin layers of instability can be generated only when the combined perturbations associated with tides and gravity waves induce large vertical shears in the horizontal wind and temperature profiles. There is a region …