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NASA Aeronomy of Ice In the Mesosphere (AIM) Mission Data

Entry ID: NASA_AIM_CIPS_DATA

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Summary

Abstract: [Source: AIM Mission Home Page, Hampton University, http://aim.hamptonu.edu/ ]

AIM is the first satellite mission dedicated to the study of noctilucent or “night-shining” clouds (NLCs) also called Polar Mesospheric clouds (PMCs). It has provided the first global-scale view of the clouds over the entire 2007 Northern Hemisphere season with an unprecedented resolution of 5 km by 5 km and is nearing ... completion of observations in the Southern Hemisphere season. Despite a significant increase in PMC research in recent years, relatively little is known about the basic physics of these clouds at ”the edge of space” and why they are changing. They have increased in brightness over time, are being seen more often and appear to be occurring at lower latitudes than ever before. The overall goal of the baseline mission is to determine why PMCs form and vary. Since the launch of AIM on April 25, 2007, significant progress has been made in achieving this goal and that progress continues at a rapid rate. The AIM data is of very high quality and has changed our view of PMCs and their environment after only one northern hemisphere (NH) season of observations. The startling similarity between the PMC structure observed by CIPS and that seen in tropospheric clouds suggests that the mesosphere may share some of the same dynamical processes responsible for weather near Earth’s surface. If this similarity holds up in further analysis, it introduces an entirely different view of potential mechanisms responsible for PMC formation and variability.

AIM has provided the most detailed picture of NH clouds ever collected:

- The clouds appear every day, are widespread and are highly variable on hourly to daily time scales.

- PMC brightness varies over horizontal scales of a few kilometers, and because of the AIM high horizontal resolution, we now know that over small regions the clouds are ten times brighter than measured by previous space-based instruments.

- A previously suspected, but never before seen, population of very small ice particles was measured that is believed to be responsible for strong radar echoes from the summertime mesosphere.

- Mesospheric ice occurs in one continuous layer extending from below the main peak at 83 km up to around 90 km.

-Mesospheric cloud structures, resolved for the first time by the CIPS imager, exhibit complex features present in normal tropospheric clouds.

Related URL

Link: GET DATA

Description: SOFIE, CIPS, CDE, and CVO data from Hampton University.

Data Set Citation

Dataset Originator/Creator: James M. Russell III, Principal Investigator

Dataset Title: NASA Aeronomy of Ice In the Mesosphere (AIM) Mission Data

Dataset Release Place: Hampton, Virginia, USA

Online Resource: http://aim.hamptonu.edu/

Location Keywords

VERTICAL LOCATION > MESOSPHERE

Science Keywords

ATMOSPHERE > AEROSOLS > CLOUD CONDENSATION NUCLEI

ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE > GRAVITY WAVE

ISO Topic Category

GEOSCIENTIFIC INFORMATION

Platform

Aircraft

DC-8 > Douglas DC-8

Instrument

VISUAL OBSERVATIONS

Project

EOSDIS > Earth Observing System Data Information System

ESIP > Earth Science Information Partners Program

OIB > Operation Ice Bridge

Ancillary Keywords

Flight Report

IceBridge

NSIDC

NSIDC DAAC

Data Set Progress

IN WORK

Originating Center

NASA/WFF/OSB

Data Center

NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center

Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/daac/index.html

Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC USER SERVICES Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199 Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468 Email: nsidc at nsidc.org Contact Address: National Snow and Ice Data Center CIRES, 449 UCB University of Colorado City: Boulder Province or State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0449 Country: USA

National Snow and Ice Data Center

Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org

Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC USER SERVICES Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199 Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468 Email: nsidc at nsidc.org Contact Address: National Snow and Ice Data Center CIRES, 449 UCB University of Colorado City: Boulder Province or State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0449 Country: USA

Distribution

Distribution Media: FTP

Distribution Size: 2 KB to 18 KB

Distribution Format: ASCII text

Distribution Media: FTP

Distribution Size: 44 KB to 5 MB

Distribution Format: PDF

Personnel

CHRIS LARSEN

Role: INVESTIGATOR

Email: Chris.Larsen at gi.alaska.edu

Contact Address:

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Geophysical Institute

City: Fairbanks

Province or State: AK

Postal Code: 99775

Country: USA

Creation and Review Dates

DIF Creation Date: 1999-08-25

Last DIF Revision Date: 2012-05-11

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