Browsing by Author "Faivre, M."
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Item Restricted 3D Imaging of the OH mesospheric emissive layer(Elsevier, 2010-01-15) Kouahla, M. N.; Moreels, G.; Faivre, M.; Clairemidi, J.; Meriwether, J. W.; Lehmacher, G. A.; Vidal Safor, Erick; Veliz, OscarA new and original stereo imaging method is introduced to measure the altitude of the OH nightglow layer and provide a 3D perspective map of the altitude of the layer centroid. Near-IR photographs of the OH layer are taken at two sites separated by a 645 km distance. Each photograph is processed in order to provide a satellite view of the layer. When superposed, the two views present a common diamond-shaped area. Pairs of matched points that correspond to a physical emissive point in the common area are identified in calculating a normalized cross-correlation coefficient (NCC). This method is suitable for obtaining 3D representations in the case of low-contrast objects. An observational campaign was conducted in July 2006 in Peru. The images were taken simultaneously at Cerro Cosmos (12 09 08.2 S, 75 33 49.3 W, altitude 4630 m) close to Huancayo and Cerro Verde Tellolo (16 33 17.6 S, 71 39 59.4 W, altitude 2272 m) close to Arequipa. 3D maps of the layer surface were retrieved and compared with pseudo-relief intensity maps of the same region. The mean altitude of the emission barycenter is located at 86.3 km on July 26. Comparable relief wavy features appear in the 3D and intensity maps. It is shown that the vertical amplitude of the wave system varies as exp (z/2H) within the altitude range z = 83.5–88.0 km, H being the scale height. The oscillatory kinetic energy at the altitude of the OH layer is comprised between 3 × 10−4 and 5.4 × 10−4 J/m3, which is 2–3 times smaller than the values derived from partial radio wave at 52N latitude.Item Restricted Near-infrared sky background fluctuations at mid- and low latitudes(Springer, 2008-10) Moreels, G.; Clairemidi, J.; Faivre, M.; Pautet, D.; Rubio Da Costa, F.; Rousselot, P.; Meriwether, J. W.; Lehmacher, G. A.; Vidal Safor, Erick; Chau Chong Shing, Jorge Luis; Monnet, G.The emission of the upper atmosphere introduces an additional variable component into observations of astronomical objects in the NIR 700–3,000 nm range. The subtraction of this component is not easy because it varies during the night by as much as 100% and it is not homogeneous over the sky. A program aimed at measuring and understanding the main characteristics of the atmospheric NIR emission was undertaken. A 512 × 512 CCD camera equipped with a RG780/2 mm filter is used to obtain images of the sky in a 36° × 36° field of view. The intensities of a given star and of the nearby region devoid of star in a 439 arcmin2 area are monitored during periods of time of several hours. The sky intensity measured in the 754–900 nm bandpass, reduced to zenith and zero airmass is comprised between mag20 and mag18.5 per arcsecond2. A diminution by a factor of two during the night is frequently observed. Intensity fluctuations having an amplitude of 15% and periods of 5–40 min are present in the images with a structure of regularly spaced stripes. The fluctuations of the NIR sky background intensity are due to (1) the chemical evolution of the upper atmosphere composition during the night and (2) dynamical processes such as tides with periods of 3–6 h or gravity waves with periods of several tens of minutes. We suggest that a monitoring of the sky background intensity could be set up when quantitative observations of astronomical objects require exposure times longer than ~10 min. The publication is illustrated with several video films accessible on the web site http://www.obs-besancon.fr/nirsky/. Enter username: nirsky and password: skynir.Item Open Access New results on equatorial thermospheric winds and the midnight temperature maximum(European Geosciences Union (EGU), 2008-03-26) Meriwether, J.; Faivre, M.; Fesen, C.; Sherwood, P.; Veliz, OscarOptical observations of thermospheric winds and temperatures determined with high resolution measurements of Doppler shifts and Doppler widths of the OI 630-nm equatorial nightglow emission have been made with improved accuracy at Arequipa, Peru (16.4° S, 71.4° W) with an imaging Fabry-Perot interferometer. An observing procedure previously used at Arecibo Observatory was applied to achieve increased spatial and temporal sampling of the thermospheric wind and temperature with the selection of eight azimuthal directions, equally spaced from 0 to 360°, at a zenith angle of 60°. By assuming the equivalence of longitude and local time, the data obtained using this technique is analyzed to determine the mean neutral wind speeds and mean horizontal gradients of the wind field in the zonal and meridional directions. The new temperature measurements obtained with the improved instrumental accuracy clearly show the midnight temperature maximum (MTM) peak with amplitudes of 25 to 200 K in all directions observed for most nights. The horizontal wind field maps calculated from the mean winds and gradients show the MTM peak is always preceded by an equatorward wind surge lasting 1–2 h. The results also show for winter events a meridional wind abatement seen after the MTM peak. On one occasion, near the September equinox, a reversal was observed during the poleward transit of the MTM over Arequipa. Analysis inferring vertical winds from the observed convergence yielded inconsistent results, calling into question the validity of this calculation for the MTM structure at equatorial latitudes during solar minimum. Comparison of the observations with the predictions of the NCAR general circulation model indicates that the model fails to reproduce the observed amplitude by a factor of 5 or more. This is attributed in part to the lack of adequate spatial resolution in the model as the MTM phenomenon takes place within a scale of 300–500 km and ~45 min in local time. The model shortcoming is also attributed in part to the need for the model to include a hydrodynamical mechanism to describe the merging of the zonal wind with the meridional tidal winds that converge onto the geographical equator. Finally, a conclusion of this work is that the MTM compressional heating takes place along the perimeter of the pressure bulge rather than within the bulge, an issue previously not appreciated.Item Restricted Stereoscopic imaging of the hydroxyl emissive layer at low latitudes(Elsevier, 2008-05-04) Moreels, G.; Clairemidi, J.; Faivre, M.; Mougin-Sisini, D.; Kouahla, M. N.; Meriwether, J. W.; Lehmacher, G. A.; Vidal Safor, Erick; Veliz, OscarThe hydroxyl nightglow layer is an excellent tracer of the dynamical processes occurring within the mesosphere. A new stereo-imaging method is applied that not only measures the altitude of the airglow layer but also provides a three-dimensional map of the OH-layer centroid heights. A campaign was conducted in July 2006 in Peru to obtain NIR images of the OH nightglow layer which were simultaneously taken for two sites separated by 645 km: Cerro Cosmos (12°09′08.2″S, 75°33′49.3″W, altitude 4630 m) and Cerro Verde Tellolo (16°33′17.6″S, 71°39′59.4″W, altitude 2330 m). Data represented by pairs of images obtained during the nights of July 26–27 and 28–29 are analyzed to yield satellite-type views of the wave field. These are obtained by application of an inversion algorithm. In calculating the normalized cross-correlation parameter for the intensity, three-dimensional maps of the OH nightglow layer surface are retrieved. The mean altitude of the emission profile barycenter is found to be at 87.1 km on July 26 and 89.5 km on July 28. In these two cases the horizontal wavelengths determined are 21.1 and 24.6 km with periods of 18 and 34 min, respectively. A panoramic view of the OH nightglow emission obtained on July 29 at 8 h51–9 h26 UT is presented, in which the overall direction of the waves is found to be N–NW to S–SE, azimuth 150°–330° (counted from South). The wave kinetic energy density at the OH nightglow layer altitude is 3.9×10−4 W/kg, which is comparable to the values derived from partial reflection radiowave data.