Simultaneous Rayleigh lidar and airglow measurements of middle atmospheric waves over low latitudes in India

We utilize simultaneous Rayleigh lidar and mesospheric OH and O2 airglow measurements to identify the dominant and propagating waves within 40–95 km altitude regions over a low latitude station Gadanki (13.8° N, 79.2 °E). It is found that waves with 0.4–0.6 h periodicity are common throughout the altitude range of 40–95 km with significant amplitudes. The ground based temperature measurements with lidar and airglow monitoring are found to compare well with SABER data. With simultaneous Rayleigh lidar (temperature) and mesospheric airglow (emission intensity and temperature) measurements, we estimate the amplitude growth and Krassovsky parameters to characterize the propagation and dissipation of these upward propagating waves.

► First temperature measurements of 40–95 km altitude regions from the Indian low latitudes.
► Waves with periods 0.4–0.6 h found propagating throughout the middle atmosphere.
► The OH and O2 airglow layers exhibited a similar response for the propagating waves.