Project Title

Pan-Antarctic investigations of mesospheric wave dynamics and influences using the ANGWIN Network

Summary

Event Number:
A-119-M/S
NSF / OPP Award 2029318

Program Director:
Dr. Vladimir Papitashvili

ASC POC/Implementer:
John Rand / Randolph Jones / Sheryl Seagraves

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Pierre-Dominique Pautet
dominiquepautet@gmail.com
Utah State University
Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences
Logan, Utah

Project Web Site:
http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/ail/

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station, South Pole Station
Research Locations: Arrival Heights, B2 Laboratory

Description

The Antarctic Gravity Wave Imaging Network (ANGWIN) is a cooperative effort of six international Antarctic programs to collect continent-wide gravity-wave measurements. This network capitalizes on existing optical and radar measurement capabilities at McMurdo Station, South Pole Station, and six other international research stations: Halley (UK), Syowa (Japan), Davis (Australia), Rothera (UK), and Ferraz (Brazil). The network quantifies the properties, variability, and momentum fluxes of short-period (less than one hour) mesospheric gravity waves and their dominant sources and effects over the Antarctic continent.

The instrumentation at McMurdo Station consists of an Infrared (IR) all-sky mesospheric OH (hydroxyl) imager and an Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM). Instrumentation at South Pole Station includes an all-sky airglow imager, an AMTM and a Rayleigh lidar. Measurements at South Pole Station focus on quantifying the temperature signatures of gravity waves deep within the polar vortex and on complementing the ANGWIN sites around the continent. These measurements substantially contribute to much-needed climatology on effects of gravity waves and their impact on the upper atmosphere over Antarctica.

Field Season Overview

On-site fieldwork for the upcoming season will focus mainly around South Pole Station. This includes finalizing repair of the AMTM instrument by installing a new top lens and installing a new all-sky camera. Both instruments were damaged in a fire event in June 2023. The DLR lidar system will undergo maintenance and upgrades, to include fixing a leaking window, installing a heating system inside the telescope enclosure, and realigning the system. In addition, research associate support will be provided throughout the year for routine monitoring and maintenance of equipment, to include observation of the equipment in the B2 Laboratory to ensure it is in normal operating mode, shutdown and restart of software and hardware as needed, data transfer and communication with the project's PI and other personnel. At McMurdo Station, on-site fieldwork will involve replacing a detector that was migrated in January 2024 to replace a damaged one at the South Pole Station, and servicing our second instrument (i.e., AMTM). The instruments at South Pole Station and McMurdo Station will continue to operate autonomously, year-round, via remote monitoring and control, aided by on-site support provided by ASC staff and other station infrastructure (e.g., IT network, station services) as needed.

Deploying Team Members