South Pole Upper Atmosphere Auroral and Airglow Observations

NASA EarthData hosts a project providing electro-optical remote sensing data from the South Pole Station. The dataset includes continuous 24-hour measurements of auroral brightness and airglow spectra during the six-month Austral winter, collected via a Meridian Scanning Photon Counting Multichannel photometer and an Infrared Michelson Interferometer. The project was last updated in 2010 by the organization AMD_USAPDC.

Use Cases

• Analyze meridional variations in F-region auroral emission brightness to study IMF control and excitation mechanisms of plasma density patches.
• Use brightness ratios of atomic O and N emissions relative to molecular O2 and N2 emissions to quantify changes in thermospheric composition.
• Derive airglow temperature from OH and O2 bands at different MLT heights to investigate planetary, tidal, and gravity wave dynamics.
• Examine changes in MLT kinetic air temperature and density to study atmospheric coupling during Stratospheric Warming Events.
• Correlate continuous winter measurements with solar magnetic cloud events to characterize the Antarctic thermospheric response to solar variability.

Strengths

• Continuous 24-hour measurements during the six-month polar night provide a unique temporal coverage.
• Data from multiple high-resolution instruments, including a scanning photometer and an interferometer, allows for multi-parameter analysis.

Limitations

• The dataset's recency is unclear, with a last update recorded in 2010, indicating potential staleness.
• Specific sample size, row count, and file formats are not provided, complicating an assessment of data volume and structure.

Provenance

Source

NASA EarthData via the AMD_USAPDC organization.

Collection Method

Electro-optical remote sensing using a Meridian Scanning Photon Counting Multichannel photometer and an Infrared Michelson Interferometer at South Pole Station.

Time Range

Measurements are taken continuously during the Austral winter (polar night).

Geography

Data is collected exclusively at the South Pole Station, Antarctica.