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Utah State University

2011

Mesosphere

Series

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physics

A New Mass Spectrometer For Upper Atmospheric Measurements In The Auroral Region, Addison E. Everett, James S. Dyer, Mike Watson, Wayne Sanderson, Scott Schicker, Dalon Work, Christopher J. Mertens, Scott M. Bailey, Erik A. Syrstad Dec 2011

A New Mass Spectrometer For Upper Atmospheric Measurements In The Auroral Region, Addison E. Everett, James S. Dyer, Mike Watson, Wayne Sanderson, Scott Schicker, Dalon Work, Christopher J. Mertens, Scott M. Bailey, Erik A. Syrstad

Graduate Student Posters

We have previously presented a new rocket-borne time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) for measurements in the mesosphere / lower thermosphere (MLT). Traditionally, mass spectrometry in the MLT has been difficult, mainly due to the elevated ambient pressures of the MLT and high speeds of a sounding rocket flight, which affect the direct sampling of the ambient atmosphere and spatial resolution. The TOF-MS is a versatile, inherently adaptable, axial-sampling instrument, capable of operating in a traditional TOF mode or in a multiplexing Hadamard-transform mode where high spatial resolution is desired. To minimize bow shock effects at low altitudes (~70-110km), the ram surface …


Early Observations Of The Middle Atmosphere Above Usu With The World’S Most Sensitive Lidar, Lance W. Petersen, Marcus J. Bingham, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron Apr 2011

Early Observations Of The Middle Atmosphere Above Usu With The World’S Most Sensitive Lidar, Lance W. Petersen, Marcus J. Bingham, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron

Posters

Extensive measurements have been made of the upper atmosphere by satellites and the lower atmosphere is measured twice daily by weather balloons. In contrast, the middle atmosphere is a difficult area to measure and therefore has been much less extensively studied. We are currently upgrading an old lidar system to a new system that will be 70 times more sensitive, making this the most sensitive lidar of its kind in the world. The upgrade consists of combining the outputs of 18 and 24 watt Nd:YAG lasers; implementing an optical chain to detect backscattered light using an existing large, four-mirror telescope; …