Abstract
Abstract. Langmuir probe electron and ion measurements from four instrumented rockets flown during the MaCWAVE (Mountain and Convective Waves Ascending VErtically) program are reported. Two of the rockets were launched from Andøya Rocket Range, Norway, in the summer of 2002. Electron scavenging by ice particulates produced reductions of the electron density in both sharp narrow (≈1–2 km) layers and as a broad (≈13 km) depletion. Small-scale irregularities were observed in the altitude regions of both types of electron depletion. The scale of the irregularities extended to wavelengths comparable to those used by ground-based radars in observing PMSE. In regions where ice particles were not present, analysis of the spectral signatures provided reasonable estimates of the energy deposition from breaking gravity waves. Two more instrumented rockets were flown from Esrange, Sweden, in January 2003. Little turbulence or energy deposition was observed during one flight, but relatively large values were observed during the other flight. The altitude distribution of the observed turbulence was consistent with observations of a semidiurnal tide and gravity wave instability effects as determined by ground-based lidar and radar measurements and by falling sphere measurements of the winds and temperatures (Goldberg et al., 2006; Williams et al., 2006).
Highlights
The state of the polar mesosphere is influenced by a number of energy sources that can be driven either globally or locally
In the cold summer polar mesosphere, ice particle formation can produce sharp layer bite-outs in the electron density and/or broad regions of electron depletion. Both types of electron depletions are accompanied by plasma irregularities with scales smaller than a few meters
The occurrence of PMSEs seems to be associated with the regions of largest plasma density irregularities and bite-outs, small-scale irregularities can extend over a wider altitude region, where there is less severe electron depletion
Summary
The state of the polar mesosphere is influenced by a number of energy sources that can be driven either globally or locally. Tropospheric convective activity, which commonly occurs during the summertime, was the planned source for the summer MaCWAVE launch sequences that were conducted from Andøya Rocket Range in northern Norway This location was chosen because of the availability of ground-based radar and lidar support facilities, which provided important data about the state of the atmosphere at the time of the rocket launches. Both the summer and winter MaCWAVE programs included a large number (∼25 and 20) of meteorological rockets for the determination of the winds and temperatures over four separate 12-h intervals. High-gain AC channels were used to detect small-scale irregularities in the electron and ion currents These AC data permitted determination of the energy dissipation when the gravity waves became unstable and deposited energy in the region. In this work we describe in detail the results from the Langmuir probe measurements
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