This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
The project focuses on investigations of the mesosphere/lower thermosphere region through examination of airglow spectra obtained at both low and high latitudes. The low latitude study will analyze spectral data on the OH Meinel band obtained by equatorial astronomical observatories. OH observations of OH are routinely used to investigate key mesospheric variables such as temperatures, tides, and gravity waves. The aim is to help resolve a current controversy about the temperature variability deduced from different OH rovibrational bands: the sky spectra from OH (v=3) and (v=8) bands will be compared with temperatures deduced from the O2 O-1 Atmospheric band. The high latitude study will use a new spectrograph, dubbed CESAR, developed under a recent NSF MRI award which will be sited and operated in coordination with the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar. The new spectrograph will obtain observations of the OH Meinel nightglow which will be compared to the observations from low latitudes. Spectra obtained during aurora will be analyzed to determine the temporal behavior of N2+, N2, and O2+ as well as the auroral enhancements in OH and O2. In terms of broader impacts, the project adds an important new instrument to NSF's Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar facility, constituting a new community resource. The improved understanding of discrepancies currently reported in inferences of mesospheric temperatures from OH measurements will benefit researchers as well as investigations of climatological trends. A woman scientist will be supported at the start of her research career and undergraduate students will be involved in the project.
