Response of the lower atmosphere and the ionosphere to the eclipse of August 11, 1999

At the time of the last total eclipse occurring in the North of France on August 11th 1999, the Laboratoire de Detection et de Geophysique set up multi-component microbarograph stations to measure the variation of atmospheric pressure on the ground as well as an ionospheric sounding array. The stations were located at distances from 0 to 283 km from the path of totality. Measurements show that gravity waves were generated by the eclipse and that their sources are situated at two different altitudes, one in the lower atmosphere and the other at higher levels in the thermosphere. The period was 9-12 min on the ground level and similar to60 min in the ionosphere. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.