Stratospheric imaging of polar mesospheric clouds: A new window on small-scale atmospheric dynamics

被引：17

作者：

Miller, A. D. ^{[1
]}

Fritts, D. C. ^{[2
]}

Chapman, D. ^{[1
]}

Jones, G. ^{[1
]}

Limon, M. ^{[1
]}

Araujo, D. ^{[1
]}

Didier, J. ^{[1
]}

Hillbrand, S. ^{[3
]}

Kjellstrand, C. B. ^{[1
]}

Korotkov, A. ^{[4
]}

Tucker, G. ^{[4
]}

Vinokurov, Y. ^{[4
]}

Wan, K. ^{[2
]}

Wang, L. ^{[2
]}

机构：

[1] Columbia Univ, Dept Phys, New York, NY 10027 USA

[2] GATS Inc, Boulder, CO USA

[3] Calif State Univ Sacramento, Dept Phys & Astron, Sacramento, CA 95819 USA

[4] Brown Univ, Dept Phys, Providence, RI 02912 USA

来源：

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS | 2015年 / 42卷 / 14期

基金：

美国国家科学基金会;

关键词：

polar mesospheric clouds; atmospheric gravity waves; instabilities and turbulence; energy and momentum deposition; multiscale dynamics; GRAVITY-WAVE DRAG; INSTABILITY DYNAMICS; TURBULENCE; BREAKING; EVOLUTION; ICE; DISSIPATION; PROPAGATION; CLIMATE; LAYERS;

D O I：

10.1002/2015GL064758

中图分类号：

P [天文学、地球科学];

学科分类号：

07 ;

摘要：

Instabilities and turbulence extending to the smallest dynamical scales play important roles in the deposition of energy and momentum by gravity waves throughout the atmosphere. However, these dynamics and their effects have been impossible to quantify to date due to lack of observational guidance. Serendipitous optical images of polar mesospheric clouds at similar to 82km obtained by star cameras aboard a cosmology experiment deployed on a stratospheric balloon provide a new observational tool, revealing instability and turbulence structures extending to spatial scales <20m. At 82km, this resolution provides sensitivity extending to the smallest turbulence scale not strongly influenced by viscosity: the inner scale of turbulence, l(0) similar to 10(v(3)/is an element of)(1/4). Such images represent a new window into small-scale dynamics that occur throughout the atmosphere but are impossible to observe in such detail at any other altitude. We present a sample of images revealing a range of dynamics features and employ numerical simulations that resolve these dynamics to guide our interpretation of several observed events.

引用

页码：6058 / 6065

页数：8

共 52 条

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