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Observation of Thermospheric Gravity Waves in the Southern Hemisphere With GOLD
Author(s) -
England Scott L.,
Greer Katelynn R.,
Solomon Stanley C.,
Eastes Richard W.,
McClintock William E.,
Burns Alan G.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1029/2019ja027405
Subject(s) - thermosphere , airglow , gravity wave , atmospheric wave , atmospheric sciences , ionosphere , geophysics , atmosphere (unit) , geology , atmospheric tide , northern hemisphere , gravitational wave , physics , meteorology , astronomy
The middle thermosphere from ~150 to 250 km is characterized by rapid increase in temperature with altitude and rapid ionization. The entire thermosphere is believed to be home to atmospheric waves that propagate through it, originating both in the atmospheric layers below and in the thermosphere itself. Within the middle thermosphere, direct observations of such waves are extremely sparse. The Global‐scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) far‐ultraviolet imaging spectrometer is able to observe the middle thermosphere from geostationary orbit. During October 2018, a special observational campaign was performed, designed to identify atmospheric waves. Signatures in the 135.6‐nm O airglow were seen that move northward with time, away from the southern polar region. These are consistent with a large‐scale atmospheric gravity wave. These results are the first time 135.6‐nm airglow has been used to track such a wave and highlight the ability of GOLD to observe such waves, even when at a modest amplitude, and track their motion.