All Physics Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume
108
Issue
D14
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Publication Date
7-2003
First Page
1
Last Page
8
Abstract
An all-sky charge-coupled device imager capable of measuring wave structure in the OH, O2, and O I (557.7 nm) airglow emissions was operated at Cachoeira Paulista, Brazil (23S, 45W), for 2 years in collaboration with Utah State University, Logan. The dominant quasi-monochromatic gravity wave components investigated over a 1 year period (September 1998 to October 1999) have been extracted, and their seasonal variations have been measured. A total of 283 wave events were measured, exhibiting horizontal wavelengths from 5 to 60 km, observed periods from 5 to 35 min, and horizontal phase speeds of up to 80 m s1. The large-scale ‘‘band’’ wave patterns (horizontal wavelength between 10 and 60 km) exhibited a clear seasonal dependence on the horizontal propagation direction, propagating toward the southeast during the summer months and toward the northwest during the winter. The direction of propagation was observed to change abruptly around the equinox period in mid March and at the end of September. Using a numerical simulation of gravity wave propagation in a seasonally variable climatological wind field, we have determined that the observed anisotropy in the wave propagation directions can be attributed to a strong filtering of the waves in the middle atmosphere by stratospheric winds.
Recommended Citation
Medeiros, A.F., M.J. Taylor, H. Takahashi, P.P. Batista, and D. Gobbi, An investigation of gravity wave activity in the low-latitude mesosphere: propagation direction and wind filtering, J. Geophys. Res, 108, 4411, 2003.
Comments
Published by the American Geophysical Union in Journal of Geophysical Research.
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2003/2002JD002593.shtml
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