Date of Award
5-2025
Degree Type
Report
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Physics
Committee Chair(s)
Ludger Scherliess
Committee
Ludger Scherliess
Committee
Mark Riffe
Committee
Pierre-Dominique Pautet
Abstract
Considerable progress has been made in recent decades in the understanding of gravity wave (GW) dynamics. However, there remain important aspects and effects that are poorly understood. In particular, the coupling and deposition of their energy and momentum into the mesosphere lower thermosphere (MLT) region and the interaction and instability dynamics that are directly associated with GW breaking. Using an Advanced Mesosphere Temperature Mapper (AMTM) several strong wave breaking events were observed in the summer of 2015 at USU’s BLO research station. These events have exhibited high momentum fluxes and associated strong wave breaking, prompting detailed data analyses. Rossby waves, influenced by planetary rotation and Coriolis forces, along with tidal waves, driven by diurnal and semidiurnal solar heating, are analyzed due to their coupling interactions with GWs. However, the primary focus is to investigate the coupling of wave activity between the troposphere and MLT regions of the atmosphere, determine the role of critical layer filtering with the GW breaking events, and to analyze the strength and variation of momentum flux of the GW breaking events.
To further investigate the instabilities associated with these wave breaking events AMTM data is used in conjunction with sodium lidar data. With both the AMTM and lidar data the wind, temperature, and density measurements averaged in time are given from ∼80-105 km. This allows additional wave parameters to be resolved such as the natural frequency, Richardson number, and vertical wave number profiles. These gravity wave parameters are analyzed and reported for GWs exhibiting high momentum flux and energy deposition in the MLT region over northern Utah in 2015.
Recommended Citation
Davis, Eric, "Gravity Wave Breaking Over Northern Utah With an Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper and Sodium Lidar" (2025). All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present. 74.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports2023/74
Included in
Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Commons, Fluid Dynamics Commons, Optics Commons, Plasma and Beam Physics Commons
Copyright for this work is retained by the student. If you have any questions regarding the inclusion of this work in the Digital Commons, please email us at DigitalCommons@usu.edu.
