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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 110, D09S09, doi:10.1029/2004JD004778, 2005

Observational investigations of gravity wave momentum flux with spectroscopic imaging

J. Tang

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA


G. R. Swenson

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA


A. Z. Liu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA


F. Kamalabadi

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA


Abstract

We apply a newly developed gravity wave momentum flux estimation method to the mesospheric measurements obtained with colocated airglow imager and meteor radar at Maui, Hawaii (20.7°N, 156.3°W), during the Maui Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (Maui MALT) campaign. The method identifies individual quasi-monochromatic gravity waves with periods between 6 and ∼40 min, estimates the intrinsic wave parameters, and calculates the momentum fluxes carried by vertically propagating waves. Data taken on 28 October 2003 are analyzed in detail to reveal the relationship between momentum flux and wave parameters. The January, April, July, and October 2003 data are divided into summer and winter categories, and nightly average momentum fluxes are calculated for comparison of the seasonal wave propagation directions. Average wave momentum flux is directed to the northeast during most of the summer nights, while a southwest preference exists for the winter nights. The results extracted from Maui, Hawaii, combined with the earlier results from Starfire Optical Range, New Mexico (35°N, 107°W), and other observations, support the notion that the seasonal trend in meridional flux is a global phenomenon.

Received 15 March 2004; accepted 12 August 2004; published 15 March 2005.

Keywords: airglow imaging; gravity wave; momentum flux.

Index Terms: 3384 Atmospheric Processes: Acoustic-gravity waves; 3334 Atmospheric Processes: Middle atmosphere dynamics (0341, 0342); 5408 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Aurorae and airglow; 3360 Atmospheric Processes: Remote sensing.

Subscriber Access to Full Article (Nonsubscribers may purchase for $9.00, Includes print PDF, file size: 586497 bytes)

Citation: Tang, J., G. R. Swenson, A. Z. Liu, and F. Kamalabadi (2005), Observational investigations of gravity wave momentum flux with spectroscopic imaging, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D09S09, doi:10.1029/2004JD004778.