Observations of Waves with Observed Periods less than the Buoyancy Period in the Winter Polar Mesopause Region

The sodium wind-temperature lidar at the ALOMAR observatory (69N,16E) can measure the sodium density from 85-100km altitude with 150m height and 15 sec time resolution during winter under good conditions. Radial winds and temperatures can be measured with 1-2 m/s and 1-2 K error after averaging to 1 min in time and 1-2 km in altitude. This allows determination of the short period wave spectrum down to 30sec in Na density and 2min in wind and temperature. Preliminary analysis shows a number of oscillations with observed periods that are less than the buoyancy period. We have also observed an oscillation in the height of a strong summertime sodium sporadic layer with 500m amplitude and 45sec period. We will show the short period spectrum for the full high-resolution database and investigate the sources of these oscillations. Some possibilities include Doppler shifting of the intrinsic frequencies, acoustic waves, or advection of horizontal gradients through our lidar beam.