Physicist Presents Paper on Enhanced Atmospheric Research

June 18, 2008—Littleton, Colorado     Ophir Corporation physicist Phillip Acott is presenting a paper about an ongoing study of momentum flux and atmospheric tidal interactions in the mesopause.  A poster, which covers his work, was presented at a Utah conference.

The poster was presented at the Coupling, Energetics and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) conference held June 16-21 in Midway, Utah. The poster is titled “Mesospheric Momentum Flux Studies over Fort Collins, Colorado.”  A paper and talk of the same title will be presented at the International Laser Radar Conference, June 23-26, 2008, in Boulder, Colorado.

The focus for both presentations is how momentum is transferred in the mesopause (the coldest region of the atmosphere), specifically the momentum carried by gravity waves and their interactions with the atmospheric tide using the sodium lidar at Colorado State University (CSU) at Fort Collins, Colorado. This study is important because it should help provide a better understanding of atmospheric dynamics in the middle atmosphere, and thereby, increase the general understanding of the atmosphere as a whole. A better understanding of how the atmosphere behaves as a whole could lend insight to the study of important issues such as global warming and weather prediction.

For over 15 years, the CSU lidar program has collected nocturnal temperatures for continued long-term studies of the influence of the solar cycle and temperature trend.  Now, with over four years of tidal measurements, CSU has sufficient tidal data to pursue study of the climatology of tides above Fort Collins. 

Mr. Acott, working on laser radar for optical air data systems at Ophir, also is finishing his doctoral research at Colorado State University, which focuses on design and development of nonlinear lasers and narrow band optical systems for use in optical remote sensing applications.

Ophir Corporation is an AS9100-B and ISO 9001:2001 certified aerospace contractor focused on instrumentation for the atmospheric sciences. Ophir’s technology expertise includes Rayleigh/Mie lidar for atmospheric characterization, range/velocity lidar and aerosol lidar.