Lynette Jean Gelinas

The life cycle of instability features measured from the Andes Lidar Observatory over Cerro Pachon on 24 March 2012

The Aerospace Corporations Nightglow Imager (ANI) observes nighttime OH emission (near 1.6 μm) every 2 s over an approximate 73° field of view. ANI had previously been used to study instability features seen over Maui. Here we describe observations of instabilities seen from 5 to 8 UT on 24 March 2012 over Cerro Pachon, Chile, and compare them with previous results from Maui, with theory, and with Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). The atmosphere had reduced stability because of the large negative temperature gradients measured by a Na lidar. Thus, regions of dynamical and convective instabilities are expected to form, depending on the value of the Richardson number. Bright primary instabilities are formed with a horizontal wavelength near 9 km and showed the subsequent formation of secondary instabilities, rarely seen over Maui, consistent with the primaries being dynamical instabilities. The ratio of the primary to secondary horizontal wavelength was greater over Chile than over Maui. After dissipation of the instabilities, smaller-scale features appeared with sizes in the buoyancy subrange between 1.5 and 6 km. Their size spectra were consistent with the model of Weinstock (1978) if the turbulence is considered to be increasing. The DNS results produce secondary instabilities with sizes comparable to what is seen in the images although their spectra are somewhat steeper than is observed. However, the DNS results also show that after the complete decay of the primary features, scale sizes considerably smaller than 1 km are produced and these cannot be seen by the ANI instrument.

Spectral distribution of gravity wave momentum fluxes over the Antarctic Peninsula from Concordiasi superpressure balloon data

Gravity waves generated by flow over the steep topography of the Antarctic Peninsula transport significant amounts of zonal and meridional momentum into the stratosphere. Quantitative determination of this transport has been carried out for wave periods of 1 h or greater using data from a previous Antarctic superpressure balloon campaign in austral spring 2005 (VORCORE). The present study uses data from the later Concordiasi campaign (2010) to extend the momentum flux determination to shorter periods. Maps of the vertical fluxes of meridional and zonal momentum are presented for periods down to 12 min. We find that the momentum fluxes for periods below 1 h are comparable to those at longer periods, despite larger variances at longer periods. The momentum fluxes in the vicinity of the peninsula provide a significant zonal acceleration of the lower stratosphere, confirming a conclusion from the VORCORE data. The geographical distribution of fluxes around the peninsula has peaks both leeward and windward of the main terrain features. Numerical simulations suggest that the separate peaks may be related to wave transience caused by unsteady winds over the peninsula. Momentum fluxes comprise a main distribution maximizing at moderate flux values and a secondary distribution maximizing at high values exhibiting a high degree of intermittency. The high flux events account for the largest part of the average flux and suggest that drag parameterizations should take them into account. It is found that waves generated by the jet stream are also a significant source of momentum flux.

Auroral emission generated by a trimethyl aluminum release

A trimethyl aluminum (TMA) release rocket launched during the 1998 Coqui II sounding rocket campaign in Puerto Rico produced what appeared to be an artificially generated aurora. This phenomenon has been observed on several other occasions but has heretofore not been reported. In this paper we discuss the observation of artificially generated auroral light in relation to a kerosene-doped TMA release and propose an auroral generation mechanism involving motion of charged particulates associated with the TMA trail.

GHOST: A Satellite Mission Concept for Persistent Monitoring of Stratospheric Gravity Waves Induced by Severe Storms

CapsuleGHOST would continuously monitor storm-induced gravity waves, observing their development through complete storm life-cycles in order to elucidate causal relationships between storm phenomena linked to latent heating and gravity-wave production.

Simultaneous observations of the phase‐locked 2 day wave at Adelaide, Cerro Pachon, and Darwin

The Southern Hemisphere summer 2 day wave (TDW) is the most dramatic large-scale event of the upper mesosphere. The winds accelerate over ~1 week, may attain > 70 m/s, and are often accompanied by a near disappearance of the diurnal tide and stabilization of the period close to 48 h. We denote this as the phase-locked 2 day wave (PL/TDW). We have examined airglow and meteor radar (MR) wind data from the Andes Lidar Observatory (Cerro Pachon, Chile:30°S, 289.3°E), MR data from Darwin (12.5°S, 131°E) and airglow and medium frequency radar data from the University of Adelaide (34.7°S, 138.6°E) for the behavior of the TDW during the austral summers of 2010, 2012, and 2013. The Cerro Pachon and Adelaide sites are located at similar latitudes separated in longitude by about 120°. We find a remarkable coincidence between the TDW oscillations at Chile and Adelaide for the period January–February 2010. The oscillations are nearly in phase in terms of local time and the minima and maxima repeat at nearly the same local time from cycle to cycle consistent with a phase-locked wave number 3 TDW. Data for this and other years (including Darwin) show that the amplitude of the diurnal tide decreases when the TDW is largest and that this occurs when the period is close to 48 h. These observations support the proposal that the PL/TDW is a subharmonic parametric instability wherein the diurnal tide transfers energy to a TDW that is resonant at nearly 48 h.

Observations of the Breakdown of Mountain Waves Over the Andes Lidar Observatory at Cerro Pachon on 8/9 July 2012: MOUNTAIN WAVE BREAKDOWN

Although mountain waves (MWs) are thought to be a ubiquitous feature of the wintertime southern Andes stratosphere, it was not known whether these waves propagated up to the mesopause region until Smith et al. (2009) confirmed their presence via airglow observations. The new Andes Lidar Observatory at Cerro Pachon in Chile provided the opportunity for a further study of these waves. Since MWs have near-zero phase speed, and zero wind lines often occur in the winter upper mesosphere (80 to 100 km altitude) region due to the reversal of the zonal mean and tidal wind, MW breakdown may routinely occur at these altitudes. Here we report on very high spatial/temporal resolution observations of the initiation of MW breakdown in the mesopause region. Because the waves are nearly stationary, the breakdown process was observed over several hours; a much longer interval than has previously been observed for any gravity wave breakdown. During the breakdown process observations were made of initial horseshoe-shaped vortices, leading to successive vortex rings, as is also commonly seen in Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of idealized and multiscale gravity wave breaking. Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) structures were also observed to form. Comparing the structure of observed KHI with the results of existing DNS allowed an estimate of the turbulent kinematic viscosity. This viscosity was found to be around 25 m2/s, a value larger than the nominal viscosity that is used in models.

Development of level 1b calibration and validation readiness, implementation and management plans for GOES-R

A complement of Readiness, Implementation and Management Plans (RIMPs) to facilitate management of post-launch product test activities for the official Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) Level 1b (L1b) products have been developed and documented. Separate plans have been created for each of the GOES-R sensors including: the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), the Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS), Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), GOES-R Magnetometer (MAG), the Space Environment In-Situ Suite (SEISS), and the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI). The GOES-R program has implemented these RIMPs in order to address the full scope of Cal/Val activities required for a successful demonstration of GOES-R L1b data product quality throughout the three validation stages: Beta, Provisional and Full Validation. For each product maturity level, the RIMPs include specific performance criteria and required artifacts that provide evidence a given validation stage has been reached, the timing when each stage will be complete, a description of every applicable Post-Launch Product Test (PLPT), roles and responsibilities of personnel, upstream dependencies, and analysis methods and tools to be employed during validation. Instrument level Post-Launch Tests (PLTs) are also referenced and apply primarily to functional check-out of the instruments.