Mesospheric density variability
Document ID: 54
Philbrick, C. Russell1
Murphy, E. A.1
Zimmerman, S. P.1
Fletcher. Jr., E. T.2
Olsen, R. O.3
1 USAF, Geophysics Laboratory, Hanscom AFB, Bedford, MA, U.S.A.
2 Xonics, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
3 Army Atmospheric Science Laboratory, White Sands Missile Range, NM, U.S.A.
Abstract
Several sets of measurements of atmospheric density, temperature and winds in the mesosphere were obtained at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, during the period 1976-1978. The measurements were made with inflatable passive spheres and accelerometer instrumented falling spheres. Comparisons of sets of measurements obtained over a period of a few hours frequently show relatively large density variability in one or more altitude regions of a few kilometers thickness. Richardson numbers, calculated from the wind and temperature data, have been used to indicate those regions where turbulent layers would be expected. The regions that exhibit a large variability between the density profiles correspond to the turbulent regions predicted by the stability calculations. The study indicates that the vertical thickness and persistence of the turbulent layers tend to increase with increasing altitude through the mesosphere.
| Citation: | "Mesospheric density variability", Philbrick, C. R., E. A. Murphy, S. P. Zimmerman, E. T. Fletcher. Jr., R. O. Olsen, SPACE RESEARCH, Vol. XX, COSPAR (Committee on Space Research), 1980, pp. 79 - 82 |