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Determining The Phase Of The Diurnal, Solar Thermal Tidal Wave In The Upper Atmosphere Using Nighttime Na Lidar Measurements, Trevor Harshman
Determining The Phase Of The Diurnal, Solar Thermal Tidal Wave In The Upper Atmosphere Using Nighttime Na Lidar Measurements, Trevor Harshman
Physics Capstone Projects
Solar thermal tidal waves play a critical role in the dynamics of the mesosphere and thermosphere. Obtaining measurements of the diurnal tidal wave above 100 km is difficult. This could be solved using a physics-based empirical model. To derive this model requires knowing the phase at different points along the tidal wave. In this study, I determine the phase at multiple points along the thermal diurnal tidal wave using measurements taken by a fluorescence lidar in the range of 80 to 100 km. A simple calculation of the phase based on the zeroes and extrema of the wave is demonstrated.