Antarctic Atmospheric Gravity Wave Parameters from Infrared Imaging

Davis Utah State University infrared camera gravity wave parameters contain horizontal wavelength, propagation direction, and phase velocity data derived from infrared sky images. The dataset covers two years of processed observations from 2012 and 2013, collected by a camera operating during darkness at Davis Station, Antarctica. Parameters were extracted using manual clear-sky identification, image processing, and a two-dimensional FFT algorithm.

Use Cases

• Analyze seasonal patterns in gravity wave horizontal wavelength and propagation direction over Antarctica.
• Correlate wave horizontal phase velocity with other atmospheric parameters from complementary datasets.
• Validate two-dimensional FFT algorithms for extracting wavelike features from time-series image sequences.
• Study the climatology of mesospheric gravity waves using manually identified clear-sky intervals from 2012-2013.

Strengths

• Data spans two full years of observations from 2012 and 2013.
• Parameters are derived from images collected approximately every ten seconds during darkness.
• Processing includes manual quality control for clear-sky intervals.

Limitations

• The dataset is limited to two years of data, providing a short temporal record.
• Observations are restricted to the dark season (February to October) due to continuous summer daylight.
• Spatial coverage is limited to the sky above a single station in Davis, Antarctica.

Provenance

Source

AU_AADC (likely Australian Antarctic Data Centre) via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Parameters extracted from infrared camera images via manual clear-sky identification, star removal, flat fielding, geographic projection, and application of a 2D FFT algorithm.

Time Range

2012 to 2013.

Freshness

null

Geography

Sky above Davis Station, Antarctica.