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A Study of Polar Mesospheric Cloud Front Structures

Brentha
Thurairajah
First Author's Affiliation
Virginia Tech
Abstract text:

The polar summer mesosphere provides rich visual clues to the dynamic processes that control this region in the form of Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs). PMCs typically occur in the high-latitude (>60°N) summer mesosphere at the edge of space (~82-86 km). PMCs exhibit complex spatial structures (veils, bands, vortex, voids etc.) including the presence of mesospheric fronts. A ‘front’ like structure in PMCs generally appears as a solitary wave or a sharp step-like boundary that separates a mesospheric cloud and no-cloud regions. We use the extensive database (15 seasons) of PMC images from the CIPS/AIM instrument to study the longitudinal variability in mesospheric fronts. Near-coincident temperature observations from the SABER/TIMED instrument (when available) indicate a 76% presence of Mesospheric Inversion Layers (MILs) in the vicinity of the fronts. We hypothesize that MILs and instability caused by GWs may support the formation of PMC fronts.

Non-Student
Poster category
POLA - Polar Aeronomy