Atmospheric Gravity Wave Events over Antarctica

• Main Author: Wrobel, America
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Hosted by Utah State University Libraries 2018
• Subjects: atmospheric gravity; wave events; Antarctica; Physics; Antarctic; McMurdo Station; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/phys_capstoneproject/64; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1063&context=phys_capstoneproject

This study used infrared (IR) image data obtained from McMurdo Station, Antarctica to investigate the properties of atmospheric gravity waves as they propagate into the upper mesosphere over Antarctica. The data were obtained as part of the international Antarctic Gravity Wave Instrument Network (ANGWIN). ANGWIN utilizes image data from several sites around Antarctica to investigate continent-wide propagation. This paper covers a study that reduced and analyzed two years of data from one particular site: McMurdo Station. An all-sky IR camera placed at McMurdo Station, Antarctica (77°83’ S, 166°61’ E) took one picture every ten seconds for the months of April through September in 2012 and 2013. The data were first visually analyzed to distinguish clear sky periods of at least four hours. The best nights were selected to run through a series of software analyses. First, the background stars were removed from the images. Second, a mean image was created for the night. Third, the images were flat fielded, calibrated, and unwarped. These steps prepared the data to be input into a 3D spectral analysis IDL program (Matsuda, et al., 2014), which output graphs quantifying amplitude (power) and horizontal phase velocity distributions of gravity waves over McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Example processed data during August 2012 are shown demonstrating the successful 3D spectral analysis of the GW are presented, opening the door to large-scale GW analyses.