This grant will maintain and operate two coordinated 'Class I' optical instruments at the Polar Cap Observatory site for three consecutive seasons, as well as analyze data sets from these instruments to systematically address problems in mesospheric and thermospheric physics. The instrument, already in place, are a Fabry-Perot interferometer and a fully digital all-sky monochromatic imager system with thermoelectrically cooled bare CCD detector and programmable filter wheel. The two instruments, deployed in the 'Early PCO' building, completed their first full season of observations in May, 1996, and results have been presented. The Fabry-Perot interferometer is performing above expectations, and results will continue to be shared with the aeronomical community through CEDAR and Canadian sponsored efforts. In addition, these two instruments will provide training for Genene Fisher, a graduate student, investigating: (1) gravity wave, 'pseudo-tides,' and planetary wave characteristics, (2) mesopause dynamics and energetics at high geomagnetic latitude, (3) lower thermospheric dynamics and energetics at high geomagnetic latitude, (4) collaborative studies with other high-latitude instruments, (5) impact of high-latitude auroras on structure and dynamics, (6) plasma drifts, patches and blobs, (7) ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling processes, and (8) effects of geomagnetic perturbations.
