An unusual mesospheric bore event observed at high latitudes

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Halley Station; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.526.2542; http://www.astro.ex.ac.uk/people/mjm/oh_airglow/Neilsen_2005GL025649.pdf

gravity waves have been made from Halley Station, Antarctica (76S, 27W). On 27 May, 2001, an unusual wave event exhibiting several features characteristic of a ‘‘bore’ ’ was observed in the OH, Na, and O2 nightglow emissions. Mesospheric bores are rare wave events that have previously been observed at mid- and low-latitudes. This event was particular interesting as: (1) it initially appeared as a single, high contrast, linear front, accompanied by a sharp enhancement in intensity in all three emissions, (2) a number of trailing wave crests were observed to formwith ameasured growth rate of 6.6 waves/hr, and (3) the wave pattern exhibited unusual dynamics with significant variability in the observed phase speed and a reduction in the horizontal wavelength by 50 % over a 1-hr period. The location of Halley and the observed propagation suggests a ducted wave consistent with current bore models. Citation: Nielsen, K., M. J. Taylor, R. G. Stockwell, and M. J. Jarvis (2006), An unusual mesospheric bore event observed at high latitudes over Antarctica