Retrieving horizontally resolved wind fields using multi-static meteor radar observations

Gravity waves (GW) contribute significantly to the energy budget and variability of the mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT). The typical GW scales are too small to be resolved with the present generation of GCMs and hence our knowledge about the energy transfer and the GW mean flow interaction depends on ground-based observations. Most of these ground-based observations provide a vertical sounding of the atmospheric column above. As GWs propagate in a mean flow, wind measurements are essential to derive the intrinsic wave properties. Recently, we developed a new technical approach to obtain horizontally resolved wind fields at the MLT using meteor radars. Here we present the preliminary results of the wind retrieval using the MMARIA meteor network in Germany. We demonstrate the quality of this new dataset, which covers the horizontal scales from 30 to 600 km by estimating horizontal wavelength spectra. Further, we show some examples of vortical structures associated to GW body forces.