Multi-static spatial and angular studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes combining MAARSY and KAIRA
Polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSEs) have been long associated with noctilucent clouds (NLCs). For large ice particles sizes and relatively high ice densities, PMSEs at 3m Bragg wavelengths are known to be good tracers of the atmospheric wind dynamics and to be highly correlated with NLC occurren...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.34657/4638 https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/6009 |
id |
ftleibnizopen:oai:oai.leibnizopen.de:zTA874cBdbrxVwz6t7hE |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftleibnizopen:oai:oai.leibnizopen.de:zTA874cBdbrxVwz6t7hE 2023-06-11T04:13:42+02:00 Multi-static spatial and angular studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes combining MAARSY and KAIRA Chau, J.L. McKay, D. Vierinen, J.P. La Hoz, C. Ulich, T. Lehtinen, M. Latteck, R. 2018 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.34657/4638 https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/6009 eng eng Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH CC BY 4.0 Unported https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18 (2018), 13 atmospheric wave ice imaging method observational method particle size polar mesosphere summer echo radar spatial analysis 550 article Text 2018 ftleibnizopen https://doi.org/10.34657/4638 2023-05-07T23:28:56Z Polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSEs) have been long associated with noctilucent clouds (NLCs). For large ice particles sizes and relatively high ice densities, PMSEs at 3m Bragg wavelengths are known to be good tracers of the atmospheric wind dynamics and to be highly correlated with NLC occurrence. Combining the Middle Atmosphere ALOMAR Radar System (MAARSY) and the Kilpisjärvi Atmospheric Imaging Receiver Array (KAIRA), i.e., monostatic and bistatic observations, we show for the first time direct evidence of limited-volume PMSE structures drifting more than 90 km almost unchanged. These structures are shown to have horizontal widths of 5-15 km and are separated by 20-60 km, consistent with structures due to atmospheric waves previously observed in NLCs from the ground and from space. Given the lower sensitivity of KAIRA, the observed features are attributed to echoes from regions with high Schmidt numbers that provide a large radar cross section. The bistatic geometry allows us to determine an upper value for the angular sensitivity of PMSEs at meter scales. We find no evidence for strong aspect sensitivity for PMSEs, which is consistent with recent observations using radar imaging approaches. Our results indicate that multi-static allsky interferometric radar observations of PMSEs could be a powerful tool for studying mesospheric wind fields within large geographic areas. © Author(s) 2018. Leibniz_Fonds publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Kilpisjärvi LeibnizOpen (The Leibniz Association) Alomar ENVELOPE(-67.083,-67.083,-68.133,-68.133) Kilpisjärvi ENVELOPE(20.767,20.767,69.034,69.034) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
LeibnizOpen (The Leibniz Association) |
op_collection_id |
ftleibnizopen |
language |
English |
topic |
atmospheric wave ice imaging method observational method particle size polar mesosphere summer echo radar spatial analysis 550 |
spellingShingle |
atmospheric wave ice imaging method observational method particle size polar mesosphere summer echo radar spatial analysis 550 Chau, J.L. McKay, D. Vierinen, J.P. La Hoz, C. Ulich, T. Lehtinen, M. Latteck, R. Multi-static spatial and angular studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes combining MAARSY and KAIRA |
topic_facet |
atmospheric wave ice imaging method observational method particle size polar mesosphere summer echo radar spatial analysis 550 |
description |
Polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSEs) have been long associated with noctilucent clouds (NLCs). For large ice particles sizes and relatively high ice densities, PMSEs at 3m Bragg wavelengths are known to be good tracers of the atmospheric wind dynamics and to be highly correlated with NLC occurrence. Combining the Middle Atmosphere ALOMAR Radar System (MAARSY) and the Kilpisjärvi Atmospheric Imaging Receiver Array (KAIRA), i.e., monostatic and bistatic observations, we show for the first time direct evidence of limited-volume PMSE structures drifting more than 90 km almost unchanged. These structures are shown to have horizontal widths of 5-15 km and are separated by 20-60 km, consistent with structures due to atmospheric waves previously observed in NLCs from the ground and from space. Given the lower sensitivity of KAIRA, the observed features are attributed to echoes from regions with high Schmidt numbers that provide a large radar cross section. The bistatic geometry allows us to determine an upper value for the angular sensitivity of PMSEs at meter scales. We find no evidence for strong aspect sensitivity for PMSEs, which is consistent with recent observations using radar imaging approaches. Our results indicate that multi-static allsky interferometric radar observations of PMSEs could be a powerful tool for studying mesospheric wind fields within large geographic areas. © Author(s) 2018. Leibniz_Fonds publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Chau, J.L. McKay, D. Vierinen, J.P. La Hoz, C. Ulich, T. Lehtinen, M. Latteck, R. |
author_facet |
Chau, J.L. McKay, D. Vierinen, J.P. La Hoz, C. Ulich, T. Lehtinen, M. Latteck, R. |
author_sort |
Chau, J.L. |
title |
Multi-static spatial and angular studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes combining MAARSY and KAIRA |
title_short |
Multi-static spatial and angular studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes combining MAARSY and KAIRA |
title_full |
Multi-static spatial and angular studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes combining MAARSY and KAIRA |
title_fullStr |
Multi-static spatial and angular studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes combining MAARSY and KAIRA |
title_full_unstemmed |
Multi-static spatial and angular studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes combining MAARSY and KAIRA |
title_sort |
multi-static spatial and angular studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes combining maarsy and kaira |
publisher |
Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.34657/4638 https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/6009 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.083,-67.083,-68.133,-68.133) ENVELOPE(20.767,20.767,69.034,69.034) |
geographic |
Alomar Kilpisjärvi |
geographic_facet |
Alomar Kilpisjärvi |
genre |
Kilpisjärvi |
genre_facet |
Kilpisjärvi |
op_source |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18 (2018), 13 |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 Unported https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.34657/4638 |
_version_ |
1768390968755617792 |