Abstract 9615157 Hernandez It is possible to deduce the temperature and windspeed of the atmosphere by measuring the emission spectra of certain trace gasses, especially of those which are confined to fairly narrow altitude regions. This project uses a Fabry-Perot infrared interferometer located at South Pole, Antarctica, to look at the band spectra of several trace species, most importantly the hydroxyl radical (OH), in orthogonal directions. By determining the Doppler shift of the lines the winds can be measured, while the brightness and line ratios within the bands provide density and temperature information. The OH is the atmosphere is primarily found in a narrow band near 90 km altitude. The fact that the measurements are being made at the axis of rotation of Earth significantly limit the types of planetary waves, thus simplifying the study of the large scale dynamics of the atmosphere. ***
