Class
Article
College
College of Science
Department
Physics Department
Faculty Mentor
Vincent Wickwar
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Earth’s atmosphere can be characterized by its temperature structure, dividing the atmosphere into natural discrete regions. The mesosphere (50 to ~100 km) has been the least studied. Rayleigh-scatter lidars (RSL) and rockets can obtain local high-resolution measurements above one spot while satellites looking almost horizontally obtain global measurements. These measurements can be analyzed to produce a vertical profile over a given spot. The Rayleigh-scatter lidar (RSL) at USU has been collecting data on the mesosphere since 1993. In 2014 and 2015, these measurements were extended upward from 95 km to 110 km. Given the multiple ways of measuring this data, a comparison was done on the accuracy between the RLS temperatures and those from the SABER instrument on NASA's TIMED satellite. These graphs show two sets of temperatures that identify measured differences in the atmospheric region 70 km to 110 km above USU. The results show similar temperatures for many of the measured nights and some differences, especially in the winter months. Presentation Time: Wednesday, 1-2 p.m.
Location
Logan, UT
Start Date
4-11-2021 12:00 AM
Included in
Comparisons of Mesopheric Temperatures Between 70 and 110 km: USU Lidar, NASA's TIMED Satellite, and the MSIS2 Empirical Model
Logan, UT
Earth’s atmosphere can be characterized by its temperature structure, dividing the atmosphere into natural discrete regions. The mesosphere (50 to ~100 km) has been the least studied. Rayleigh-scatter lidars (RSL) and rockets can obtain local high-resolution measurements above one spot while satellites looking almost horizontally obtain global measurements. These measurements can be analyzed to produce a vertical profile over a given spot. The Rayleigh-scatter lidar (RSL) at USU has been collecting data on the mesosphere since 1993. In 2014 and 2015, these measurements were extended upward from 95 km to 110 km. Given the multiple ways of measuring this data, a comparison was done on the accuracy between the RLS temperatures and those from the SABER instrument on NASA's TIMED satellite. These graphs show two sets of temperatures that identify measured differences in the atmospheric region 70 km to 110 km above USU. The results show similar temperatures for many of the measured nights and some differences, especially in the winter months. Presentation Time: Wednesday, 1-2 p.m.