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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 112, D04104, doi:10.1029/2006JD007213, 2007

Investigation of a “wall” wave event

Feng Li

Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA


Gary R. Swenson

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


Alan Z. Liu

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


Michael Taylor

Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA


Yucheng Zhao

Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA


Abstract

A bright airglow event was observed at Maui, Hawaii, on the night of 11–12 August 2004 with multiple instruments including a Na wind/temperature lidar, an airglow imager, and a mesospheric temperature mapper. The characteristics of this event were investigated with measurements from these instruments. Analysis showed that this event was caused by a large-amplitude, upward-propagating gravity wave with a period of about 4–5 hours and a vertical wavelength of about 20 km, i.e., a “wall” wave. This wall wave induced dramatic changes in temperature (60 K), airglow intensity (doubled in the OH and tripled in the O2 emissions), and Na abundance (tripled). It experienced strong dissipation and induced large downward heat flux with values about an order of magnitude larger than the annual mean. The wave also carried large momentum flux (∼70 m2 s−2).

Received 17 February 2006; accepted 31 August 2006; published 20 February 2007.

Keywords: wall wave; mesospheric bright event.

Index Terms: 3332 Atmospheric Processes: Mesospheric dynamics; 3384 Atmospheric Processes: Acoustic-gravity waves; 0310 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Airglow and aurora; 3360 Atmospheric Processes: Remote sensing.

Subscriber Access to Full Article (Nonsubscribers may purchase for $9.00, Includes print PDF, file size: 1896310 bytes)

Citation: Li, F., G. R. Swenson, A. Z. Liu, M. Taylor, and Y. Zhao (2007), Investigation of a “wall” wave event, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D04104, doi:10.1029/2006JD007213.