Physics Commons^™

Rayleigh Lidar Temperature Studies In The Upper Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron, Matthew T. Emerick

Posters

Rayleigh lidar technology opened the middle atmosphere (from 30–90 km) to ground-based observations. The upgraded system at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) on the campus of Utah State University (41.74, 111.81) has shown that these ground-based observations can be extended to 109 km, with the goal of reaching 120 km. The resultant study of short and long-term temperature trends, using Rayleigh lidar, contributes immensely to the overall understanding of the properties and dominant physical processes in the middle atmosphere and Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere (MLT) region. Temperature variations on short time scales, from minutes to days, give insight into the effects of …

Middle Atmosphere Temperature Results From A New, High-Powered, Large-Aperture Rayleigh Lidar, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron

Conference publications

In June–July 2012, observations were carried out using the recently upgraded, large-aperture, Rayleigh-scatter lidar system located at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) on the campus of Utah State University, in Logan, UT (41.7 N, 111.8 W). This time period was significant because it enabled us to observe the annual temperature minimum in the upper mesosphere-lower thermosphere region. The data collected during the campaign were analyzed for temperatures between ~70–109 km. The results above ~95 km are the first obtained with a Rayleigh-scatter lidar, extending the technique well into the lower thermosphere. A great deal of variability from night-to-night is evident …

Results From An Extremely Sensitive Rayleigh-Scatter Lidar, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar

Conference publications

Rayleigh-Scatter lidar systems effectively use remote sensing techniques to continuously measure atmospheric regions, such as the mesosphere (45-100km) where in situ measurements are rarely possible. The Rayleigh lidar located at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) on the Utah State campus is currently undergoing upgrades to make it the most sensitive of its kind. Here, the important components of these upgrades and how they will effect the study of a particular atmospheric phenomena, atmospheric gravity waves, will be discussed. We will also summarize what has been done to the system during this year to bring us to the threshold of initial …

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; …

Rayleigh-Lidar Determinations Of The Vertical Wavelength Of Mesospheric Gravity Wave, Joe R. Slansky, Durga N. Kafle, Vincent B. Wickwar

Posters

Atmospheric structures have been observed in the Rayleigh lidar data acquired between 1993 and 2004 at Utah State University (USU). The observations pertain to the density and temperature in the mesosphere between 45 and 90 km altitude. The structures referred to arise from monochromatic Atmospheric Gravity Waves (AGWs). Previous analysis of these data have searched for and found a spectrum with a peak in the vertical wavelength 12–16 km. It has been suggested by other researchers using other types of data that there may be another peak in the spectrum at shorter wavelengths. For this study the lidar data were …

Gobal Change In The Mesosphere And Usu’S Green Beam, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron, Troy A. Wynn

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Comparisons Of Long-Term Trends And Variability In The Middle Atmosphere, Troy Wynn, Joshua P. Herron, Vincent B. Wickwar

Posters

The USU Rayleigh Lidar (41.74°N 111.81°W) has been regularly used to measure temperatures in the middle atmosphere from 45 to 90 km. It is well suited for nightly observation; provides excellent vertical temperature resolution; and does not need external calibration. It began operation in August 1993 and a dataset spanning more than ten years has been collected. The analysis here includes 593 nightly temperature profiles from September 1993 through July 2003.

With many sources of variation in the atmosphere, all temperature effects cannot be easily detected. The largest source of temperature variation, and the easiest to measure, is the annual …

Rayleigh-Lidar Observations Of Mesospheric Mid-Latitude Density Climatology Above Utah State University, Eric M. Lundell, Vincent B. Wickwar

Posters

Data from Rayleigh lidars have been used extensively to derive temperatures in the mesospheric region of the atmosphere. However, these data have not been used extensively in a similar way to derive neutral densities. We report on one such mid-latitude, density climatology between 45 and ~90 km, based on nearly 600 good nights of observations carried out since 1993 at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) at Utah State University (41.7°N 111.8°W). They produce relative density profiles that are then normalized at 45 km to an empirical model, in this case the MSISe00 model. Despite this normalization, significant differences are found …

Comparisons Of Long-Term Trends And Variability In The Middle Atmosphere, Troy Wynn, Joshua P. Herron, Vincent B. Wickwar

Posters

Rayleigh Lidar is routinely used to measure temperatures in the middle atmosphere from 45 to 90 km. It is well adapted for nightly observation, provides excellent vertical temperature resolution, and does not need external calibration. The USU Rayleigh Lidar (41.74°N 111.81°W) dataset spans more than ten years from September 1993 to July 2003 with 62 monthly profiles (about 5 years of data) spread over that period.

With many sources of variation in the atmosphere, all temperature effects cannot be detected. The largest source, and the easiest to measure, is the seasonal variation. In addition there are semiannual variation, secular trends, …

Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (Alo) Ten-Year Mesospheric Temperature Climatology, Joshua P. Herron, Vincent B. Wickwar

Posters

The Rayleigh-scatter lidar at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) on the Utah State University (USU) (41.7°N, 111.8°W) campus has been in operation since 1993. The temperature database now contains over ten years of Rayleigh-scatter temperatures. A multi-year temperature climatology has been calculated from these observations along with the RMS and interannual variability. These temperatures and the climatology are currently being used in a number of mesospheric studies, including mesospheric inversion layers, tides, planetary waves, cyclical variations, trends, longitudinal comparisons, and validation studies.

Examples Of Alo Results, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron, Karen M. Nelson, Troy A. Wynn, Kristina Thomas, Eric M. Lundell

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Lidar Investigations Of The Middle Atmosphere Or What Is The Middle Atmosphere, What Is The Green Beam, And What Is The Red Beam?, Vincent B. Wickwar

Presentations

No abstract provided.