The goal of this project is to investigate the dynamical effects of short-period, small-scale gravity waves as modulated by the dynamic and horizontally inhomogeneous structure of the terrestrial mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region. Although such waves contribute significantly to the structure and variability of the MLT, the present understanding of gravity wave generation, propagation, and dissipation has not taken the effects of local structure into account and thus may suffer from observational bias. Specific science questions related to multi-scale gravity wave interaction will be addressed in the research work through both 3-D numerical modeling, using computing cluster hardware acquired as part of this project, as well as observations of the MLT by airglow imagers, radars, and lidars at multiple facilities. The data will be used to constrain the model simulations as well as validate its results. The project will also provide a theoretical foundation for future tomographic imaging studies of wave induced airglow and temperature perturbations in order to facilitate more accurate assessments of gravity wave fluxes and multi-scale structure.
