Hourly Mesosphere Wind Estimates (Meteor Winds) from GLOBMET and MAP for

Stations in Europe and Asia

BRIEF

This data set contains hourly wind estimates for both the meridional and zonal components, accompanied by sample standard deviations and meteor hourly rates. The data are recorded at Obninsk, Volgograd, Kazan, Kharkov, Irkutsk, Dushanbe, and Frunze in the USSR. The hourly winds were obtained at the height interval of 92-95 km except at Irkutsk (110 km). The measurements are provided using ground-based meteor radars at all sites except Irkutsk. The Irkutsk station used the D1 method of drift measurements, i.e. intercomparison of fading signals, reflected by the E-layer of the ionosphere, at three or more antennas spaced a few wavelengths apart. Measurements are carried out under the MAP/GLOBMET program. Data set structure corresponds to the 'Guide to the International Data Exchange through the World Data Center's (Meteors)'. Data covers main the GLOBMET observational periods, i.e two months at each station around Spring Equinox and one month near Summer Solstice.

The term 'meteor wind' is used for the mesosphere wind estimates derived from meteor trail drifts measurements. Ionized meteor trails are produced by meteoroids (meteor particles) which enter the Earth's atmosphere. A meteor trail moves in the atmosphere due to the neutral wind and magnetic field. The radial component of this movement is measured using meteor radar. Estimates of 'meteor wind' are derived for each direction (North, South, East, West) from the set of measurements of radial components using statistical characteristics of meteor parameter distributions and parameters of antenna pattern. The 'hourly meteor rate' which is the number of registered meteors for which reliable estimates of radial components can be obtained can also be determined. Meteoroids occur in the height interval 80-100 km and are centered at 92-95 km (maximum for the apex time, near 6 a.m. LT, and minimum for anti-apex time, near 6 p.m. LT ).

The GLOBMET (Global Meteor Observation System) Project (1982-1990) was one of the MAP projects aimed at intensifying research in Meteor Geophysics and Meteor Astronomy in the 1980's by making wider use of the latest achievements in this field and expanding international coordination in meteor research. The main objective of the project was to organize a network of meteor observatories, which will provide experimental data : (1) for testing of models of atmospheric circulation which include the meteor region; (2) on the influx of meteors and the distribution of meteoroids in the neighborhood of the Earth; and (3) for testing models of meteoroid/atmosphere interaction.

The MAP (Middle Atmosphere Program) was an international cooperative enterprise scheduled for 1982-1985 and then continued as the Middle Atmosphere Cooperation (MAC) for 1986-1988. Its chief objective was to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the structure, chemistry, energetics, and dynamics of the middle atmosphere. For the purposes of the MAP, the middle atmosphere was defined to be the atmosphere from the tropopause to the lower thermosphere, that is, the region from about 10 to 100 km in altitude. The factors enumerated above all interact with each other in such complicated ways that the study of each of them in isolation leads to unreliable or even anomalous results. This can be remedied by a more integrated and unified attack - specifically by the coordination, in time and location, of observations of the various factors, and by cooperation in the interpretation of the results. This was the rationale for MAP. The operational basis for MAP was an international plan for coordinated observations from spacecraft, ground-based facilities, aircraft, balloons and rockets. The MAP also encouraged cooperative data management, information exchange on all appropriate time scales, and interaction between observationalists, modelers, and theoreticians.

ATTRIBUTES

Entry_ID: MAPDAMW021 (MD Identifier: 2048)
 
Temporal Coverage:
     From: 1980-01-01                 TO: 1985-02-16 
 
Geographic Coverage:
     Southwest Extent: 39N,37E     Northeast Extent:  57N,104E
 
Source:
     GROUND STATIONS
 
Sensor:
     RADAR
 
Storage Media:
     1 Magnetic Tape 1600 bpi
 
Campaign/Project:
     GLOBMET>Global Meteor Observation System
     MAP>Middle Atmosphere Program
 
Discipline, Subdiscipline:
     EARTH SCIENCE                   > ATMOSPHERE
 
Location Keyword:
     ASIA
     EUROPE
     IONOSPHERE
     MESOSPHERE
     MID-LATITUDE
 
Parameter Group, Parameter:
     ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS            > WINDS
 
General Keywords:
     CLIMATOLOGY
     HOURLY DATA
     IDN_NODE GSFC/WDCB
     MESOSPHERE WINDS
     STATISTICS
     UPPER AIR
 
Revision Date: 1991-11-05

DATACENTER

Archive: 
   WDC-B>World Data Center B
   Data Set ID: STM201 
 
   Contact: NECHITAILENKO, VITALY A.
            Soviet Geophysical Committee
            Molodezhnaya, 3
            Moscow 117296
            USSR
 
            Electronic Mail: INTERNET> SGC@NODE.IAS.MSK.SU
 
            Phone: (095)-930-56-49
                   FAX (095)-930-55-09

PERSONNEL

Entry Author: SCIALDONE, JOHN N.
              Hughes STX
              7701 Greenbelt Road, Suite 400
              Greenbelt, MD  20770
              USA
 
              Electronic Mail: INTERNET> SCIALDONE@NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV
                               NSI/DECnet> NCF::SCIALDONE
 
              Phone: (301) 441-4214
 
 
Information in this entry provided by WDCB

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