Research Projects

This project is a collaborative multi-instrument investigation of the dynamics in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) over the Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO) in Cerro Pachón, Chile.

The instrumentation at ALO comprises a Na wind/temperature lidar, an all sky imager, a multi-channel photometer, a Mesospheric Temperature Mapper, the Aerospace Infrared Camera, and a meteor radar. The focus of this investigation is to characterize and understand wave phenomenology in the 80 to 105 km region, including background state interactions and effects.This collaborative investigation includes state-of-the-art optical and radar instrumentation which will allow us to observe waves and wave phenomena over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, and perform both short term and long term investigations. The results of this investigation will provide needed constraints for atmospheric modeling by quantifying the effects of wave transport on momentum and energy into the MLT and the production of wave-generated instabilities.