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Observation of thermospheric gravity waves in the Southern Hemisphere with GOLD
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  • Scott L England,
  • Katelynn R Greer,
  • Stanley C. Solomon,
  • Richard Eastes,
  • William E. McClintock,
  • Alan G. Burns
Scott L England
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Katelynn R Greer
University of Colorado Boulder
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Stanley C. Solomon
National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
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Richard Eastes
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
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William E. McClintock
University of Colorado Boulder
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Alan G. Burns
National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
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Abstract

The middle thermospherefrom ~150 to 250 km is characterized by rapid increase in temperature with altitude and rapid ionization. The entire thermosphere is believed to be home to atmospheric waves that propagate through it, originating both in the atmospheric layers below and in the thermosphere itself. Within the middle thermosphere, direct observations of such waves are extremely sparse. The GOLD far-UV imaging spectrometer is able to observe the middle thermosphere from geostationary orbit. During October 2018 a special observational campaign was performed, designed to identify atmospheric waves. Signatures in the 135.6 nm O airglow were seen that move northwards with time, away from the Southern polar region. These are consistent with a large-scale atmospheric gravity wave. These results are the first time 135.6 nm airglow has been used to track such a wave and highlight the ability of GOLD to observe such waves, even when at a modest amplitude, and track their motion.
Apr 2020Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics volume 125 issue 4. 10.1029/2019JA027405