Investigation of a “wall” wave event
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Author/Creator ORCID
Date
2007-02-20
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Citation of Original Publication
Li, F., G. R. Swenson, A. Z. Liu, M. Taylor, and Y. Zhao (2007), Investigation of a ‘‘wall’’ wave event,J. Geophys. Res.,112, D04104, doi:10.1029/2006JD007213.
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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
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Public Domain Mark 1.0
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Abstract
A bright airglow event was observed at Maui, Hawaii, on the night of 11–12 August 2004 with multiple instruments including a Na wind/temperature lidar, an airglow imager, and a mesospheric temperature mapper. The characteristics of this event were investigated with measurements from these instruments. Analysis showed that this event was caused by a large-amplitude, upward-propagating gravity wave with a period of about 4–5 hours and a vertical wavelength of about 20 km, i.e., a “wall” wave. This wall wave induced dramatic changes in temperature (60 K), airglow intensity (doubled in the OH and tripled in the O₂ emissions), and Na abundance (tripled). It experienced strong dissipation and induced large downward heat flux with values about an order of magnitude larger than the annual mean. The wave also carried large momentum flux (∼70 m² s⁻²).