Investigation of the mesopause energetics and its possible implications on the mesosphere-lower thermosphere-ionosphere (MLTI) processes through coordinated daytime airglow and radar measurements
Abstract
In recent years, investigations based on the daytime thermospheric and mesospheric airglow i.e. O1D 630 nm and OH (8-3) Meinel Band intensity measurements from India have led to some new insight to the coupling processes of the mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere (MTI) over the equatorial latitudes. It has been shown through coordinated airglow and adar studies that the planetary waves have a significant impact on the mesopause dynamics. On occasions significant short-term variabilities (10min-2hours) are also seen in the dayglow intensities that owe their existence to both locally and remotely generated gravity waves. While the interaction of these long and short period waves with mean atmospheric flow at mesopause altitude alters the dynamics, the odulations in the energetics get reflected in terms of the variations in neutral temperature having far reaching consequences higher above. Simultaneous measurements pertaining to the MLTI region are needed to evaluate the significance of the observed variabilities. In this context, coordinated measurements of various neutral and plasma parameters are routinely done using multiwavelength dayglow photometer and VHF/HF radars, ground magnetometers and ionosonde at Trivandrum, a dip equatorial station in India become a unique set. This paper presents some recent results on the day-to-day, long and short term variation of mesospheric dayglow (OH (8-3) Meinel Band emission) and the estimated mesopause neutral temperatures in addition to the estimation of the possible implication that the mesopause temperature has in the processes coupling the equatorial MTI region.
- Publication:
-
35th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004cosp...35.2463K