New method of estimating temperatures near the mesopause region using meteor radar observations

We present a novel method of estimating temperatures near the mesopause region using meteor radar observations. The method utilizes the linear relationship between the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the meteor height distribution and the temperature at the meteor peak height. Once the proporti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2016-10, Vol.43 (20), p.10,580-10,585
Main Authors: Lee, Changsup, Kim, Jeong‐Han, Jee, Geonhwa, Lee, Wonseok, Song, In‐Sun, Kim, Yong Ha
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Estimating
Estimation
Geophysics
Height
Mesopause
meteor radar
Meteors
Methods
Onboard
Radar
Radar observation
Satellites
Stress concentration
Temperature
Temperature effects
temperature estimation
Temperature gradient
Temperature gradients
Temperature measurement
Temperature requirements
Time measurement
Width
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Summary:We present a novel method of estimating temperatures near the mesopause region using meteor radar observations. The method utilizes the linear relationship between the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the meteor height distribution and the temperature at the meteor peak height. Once the proportionality constant of the linear relationship is determined from independent temperature measurements performed over a specific period of time by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument on board the Aura satellite, the temperature can be estimated continuously according to the measurements of the FWHM alone without additional information. The temperatures estimated from the FWHM are consistent with the MLS temperatures throughout the study period within a margin of 3.0%. Although previous methods are based on temperature gradient or pressure assumptions, the new method does not require such assumptions, which allows us to estimate the temperature at approximately 90 km with better precision. Key Points A new method of estimating mesopause temperatures using meteor radar observations is proposed The height distribution of meteor trails is primarily determined using the background atmospheric pressure level The width of the meteor height distribution presents a consistent linear relationship with the temperature at the meteor peak height
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1002/2016GL071082