Research Objectives:
Atmospheric dynamics observations at Antarctica provide critical understanding of the global behavior of the atmosphere in the high latitude regions.
The South Pole is a unique and interesting spot from which to observe the dynamic motion of the atmosphere. It's position on the earth's axis of rotation strongly restricts the types of wave motions that can occur there compared to lower latitude sites.
This project uses high-resolution Fabry-Perot spectrometers at South Pole Station and Arrival Heights (78S) to make simultaneous azimuthal observations of the individual line spectra of several upper atmospheric trace species, most importantly the hydroxyl radical (OH) and atomic oxygen. The observed Doppler shift of the emission lines provides a direct measure of the line-of-sight wind speed, while the wind field structure can also be derived from these multi-azimuth measurements. The simultaneously observed line widths also provide a direct measurement of kinetic temperature.
The goal of this project is to observe, characterize and understand high-latitude mesospheric motions and thermospheric persistent vertical winds near Arrival Heights simultaneously with those at South Pole. In both locations, observations are made during the austral winter.
During the austral summer, project team members deploy to both stations to perform maintenance and system upgrades. During the austral winter, the instruments operate in 24-hour data acquisition mode and station technicians perform routine maintenance and operations.
