Development of an automated technique to pursue a climatology of atmospheric gravity waves above Eureka, Nunavut

Abstract

A new automated technique developed to detect atmospheric gravity waves in images of an All Sky Imager (ASI) is described. The instrument used for this analysis is the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) ASI (PASI) located at Eureka, Nunavut (80°N, 86°W) which has been operating since 2007. This imager data set is analyzed using this technique and the following wave parameters are determined: background wind corrected wave speed, intrinsic period, propagation direction, and horizontal and vertical wavelengths. The results of the analysis are collected over every season of operation and combined to determine the typical wave characteristics for this location and the seasonal variations. The preferred direction of gravity waves for each month is described. The first high Arctic observation of the daily variation in brightness and direction of gravity waves during a Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) are described in detail.