Search Results

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Item
    Enhancing the spatiotemporal features of polar mesosphere summer echoes using coherent MIMO and radar imaging at MAARSY
    (Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH, 2019) Urco, J.M.; Chau, J.L.; Weber, T.; Latteck, R.
    Polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSEs) are very strong radar echoes caused by the presence of ice particles, turbulence, and free electrons in the mesosphere over polar regions. For more than three decades, PMSEs have been used as natural tracers of the complicated atmospheric dynamics of this region. Neutral winds and turbulence parameters have been obtained assuming PMSE horizontal homogeneity on scales of tens of kilometers. Recent radar imaging studies have shown that PMSEs are not homogeneous on these scales and instead they are composed of kilometer-scale structures. In this paper, we present a technique that allows PMSE observations with unprecedented angular resolution (∼0.6). The technique combines the concept of coherent MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) and two high-resolution imaging techniques, i.e., Capon and maximum entropy (MaxEnt). The resulting resolution is evaluated by imaging specular meteor echoes. The gain in angular resolution compared to previous approaches using SIMO (Single Input Multiple Output) and Capon is at least a factor of 2; i.e., at 85 km, we obtain a horizontal resolution of ∼900 m. The advantage of the new technique is evaluated with two events of 3-D PMSE structures showing: (1) horizontal wavelengths of 8-10 km and periods of 4-7 min, drifting with the background wind, and (2) horizontal wavelengths of 12-16 km and periods of 15-20 min, not drifting with the background wind. Besides the advantages of the implemented technique, we discuss its current challenges, like the use of reduced power aperture and processing time, as well as the future opportunities for improving the understanding of the complex small-scale atmospheric dynamics behind PMSEs. © 2019 Author(s).
  • Item
    Sun photometer retrievals of Saharan dust properties over Barbados during SALTRACE
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2019) Toledano, Carlos; Torres, Benjamín; Velasco-Merino, Cristian; Althausen, Dietrich; Groß, Silke; Wiegner, Matthias; Weinzierl, Bernadett; Gasteiger, Josef; Ansmann, Albert; González, Ramiro; Mateos, David; Farrel, David; Müller, Thomas; Haarig, Moritz; Cachorro, Victoria E.
    The Saharan Aerosol Long-Range Transport and Aerosol-Cloud-Interaction Experiment (SALTRACE) was devoted to the investigation of Saharan dust properties over the Caribbean. The campaign took place in June-July 2013. A wide set of ground-based and airborne aerosol instrumentation was deployed at the island of Barbados for a comprehensive experiment. Several sun photometers performed measurements during this campaign: two AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) Cimel sun photometers and the Sun and Sky Automatic Radiometer (SSARA). The sun photometers were co-located with the ground-based multi-wavelength lidars BERTHA (Backscatter Extinction lidar Ratio Temperature Humidity profiling Apparatus) and POLIS (Portable Lidar System). Aerosol properties derived from direct sun and sky radiance observations are analyzed, and a comparison with the co-located lidar and in situ data is provided. The time series of aerosol optical depth (AOD) allows identifying successive dust events with short periods in between in which the marine background conditions were observed. The moderate aerosol optical depth in the range of 0.3 to 0.6 was found during the dust periods. The sun photometer infrared channel at the 1640nm wavelength was used in the retrieval to investigate possible improvements to aerosol size retrievals, and it was expected to have a larger sensitivity to coarse particles. The comparison between column (aerosol optical depth) and surface (dust concentration) data demonstrates the connection between the Saharan Air Layer and the boundary layer in the Caribbean region, as is shown by the synchronized detection of the successive dust events in both datasets. However the differences of size distributions derived from sun photometer data and in situ observations reveal the difficulties in carrying out a column closure study. © 2019 All rights reserved.
  • Item
    A linear model for amplitude modulation of Langmuir waves in weak electron-beam plasma interaction
    (Göttingen : Copernicus, 2013) Baumgärtel, K.
    A simple linear approach to the phenomenon of amplitude modulation of Langmuir waves in weak beam plasma interaction is presented. During the short growth phase of the instability and within the longer period after saturation, the waves are described by their linear kinetic dispersion properties.The amplitude modulation appears as result of the beating of waves with different wavelengths and amplitudes that have grown from noise in the initial phase. The Langmuir wave fields are calculated via FFT (fast Fourier transform) technique. The resulting waveforms in temporal representation are quite similar to those observed by spacecraft.
  • Item
    A method to derive Fourier-wavelet spectra for the characterization of global-scale waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere and its MATLAB and Python software (fourierwavelet v1.1)
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : Copernicus, 2023) Yamazaki, Yosuke
    This paper describes a simple method for characterizing global-scale waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), such as tides and traveling planetary waves, using uniformly gridded two-dimensional longitude-Time data. The technique involves two steps. In the first step, the Fourier transform is performed in space (longitude), and then the time series of the space Fourier coefficients are derived. In the second step, the wavelet transform is performed on these time series, and wavelet coefficients are derived. A Fourier-wavelet spectrum can be obtained from these wavelet coefficients, which gives the amplitude and phase of the wave as a function of time and wave period. It can be used to identify wave activity that is localized in time, similar to a wavelet spectrum, but the Fourier-wavelet spectrum can be obtained separately for eastward-and westward-propagating components and for different zonal wavenumbers. The Fourier-wavelet analysis can be easily implemented using existing Fourier and wavelet software. MATLAB and Python scripts are created and made available at https://igit.iap-kborn.de/yamazaki/fourierwavelet (last access: 18 August 2023) that compute Fourier-wavelet spectra using the wavelet software provided by . Some application examples are presented using MLT data from atmospheric models.
  • Item
    Retrieving horizontally resolved wind fields using multi-static meteor radar observations
    (Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH, 2018) Stober, G.; Chau, J.L.; Vierinen, J.; Jacobi, C.; Wilhelm, S.
    Recently, the MMARIA (Multi-static, Multi-frequency Agile Radar for Investigations of the Atmosphere) concept of a multi-static VHF meteor radar network to derive horizontally resolved wind fields in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere was introduced. Here we present preliminary results of the MMARIA network above Eastern Germany using two transmitters located at Juliusruh and Collm, and five receiving links: two monostatic and three multi-static. The observations are complemented during a one-week campaign, with a couple of addition continuous-wave coded transmitters, making a total of seven multi-static links. In order to access the kinematic properties of non-homogenous wind fields, we developed a wind retrieval algorithm that applies regularization to determine the non-linear wind field in the altitude range of 82-98 km. The potential of such observations and the new retrieval to investigate gravity waves with horizontal scales between 50-200 km is presented and discussed. In particular, it is demonstrated that horizonal wavelength spectra of gravity waves can be obtained from the new data set. © Author(s) 2018.
  • Item
    Derivation of gravity wave intrinsic parameters and vertical wavelength using a single scanning OH(3-1) airglow spectrometer
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : Copernicus, 2018-5-18) Wüst, Sabine; Offenwanger, Thomas; Schmidt, Carsten; Bittner, Michael; Jacobi, Christoph; Stober, Gunter; Yee, Jeng-Hwa; Mlynczak, Martin G.; Russell III, James M.
    For the first time, we present an approach to derive zonal, meridional, and vertical wavelengths as well as periods of gravity waves based on only one OH* spectrometer, addressing one vibrational-rotational transition. Knowledge of these parameters is a precondition for the calculation of further information, such as the wave group velocity vector. OH(3-1) spectrometer measurements allow the analysis of gravity wave ground-based periods but spatial information cannot necessarily be deduced. We use a scanning spectrometer and harmonic analysis to derive horizontal wavelengths at the mesopause altitude above Oberpfaffenhofen (48.09∘ N, 11.28∘ E), Germany for 22 nights in 2015. Based on the approximation of the dispersion relation for gravity waves of low and medium frequencies and additional horizontal wind information, we calculate vertical wavelengths. The mesopause wind measurements nearest to Oberpfaffenhofen are conducted at Collm (51.30∘ N, 13.02∘ E), Germany, ca. 380 km northeast of Oberpfaffenhofen, by a meteor radar. In order to compare our results, vertical temperature profiles of TIMED-SABER (thermosphere ionosphere mesosphere energetics dynamics, sounding of the atmosphere using broadband emission radiometry) overpasses are analysed with respect to the dominating vertical wavelength.