The Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite: A 20 year perspective

Abstract

An extensive validation program was conducted after launch to confirm the accuracy of the measurements. The dominant wind field, the first one observed by WINDII, was that of the migrating diurnal tide at the equator. The overall most notable WINDII contribution followed from this: determining the influence of dynamics on the transport of atmospheric species. Currently, nonmigrating tides are being studied in the thermosphere at both equatorial and high latitudes. Other aspects investigated included solar and geomagnetic influences, temperatures from atmospheric-scale heights, nitric oxide concentrations, and the occurrence of polar mesospheric clouds. The results of these observations are reviewed from a perspective of 20 years. A future perspective is then projected, involving more recently developed concepts. It is intended that this description will be helpful for those planning future missions.

FPI observations of nighttime mesospheric and thermospheric winds in China and their comparisons with HWM07

“…There are many studies on middle-atmospheric wind based on radar and lidar observations and satellite observations (e.g., Dartt et al, 1983;Kazimirovsky and Vergasova, 2009;Shepherd et al, 2012). Whereas observational studies on thermospheric winds are confined to the data from a few incoherent scatter radar (ISR), FPI, and satellite observations (e.g., Drob et al, 2008;Emmert et al, 2006aEmmert et al, , b, 2008Santos et al, 2011;Wu et al, 2012;Shepherd et al, 2012).…”

“…Whereas observational studies on thermospheric winds are confined to the data from a few incoherent scatter radar (ISR), FPI, and satellite observations (e.g., Drob et al, 2008;Emmert et al, 2006aEmmert et al, , b, 2008Santos et al, 2011;Wu et al, 2012;Shepherd et al, 2012). It has been generally accepted that the middle-atmospheric winds at middle latitudes are mainly influenced by the states of the lower atmosphere and are less influenced by solar and geomagnetic activities (Kazimirovsky and Vergasova, 2009).…”

Using the attitude response of aerostable spacecraft to measure thermospheric wind

“…Multiple instruments observing the same location have been often used to obtain instantaneous zonal and meridional wind measurements [22]. Although FPIs are certainly the most common interferometers, Michelson interferometers have also been used [23]. Ground based FPIs have an uncertainty on their measurements of roughly ∼2-30 m/s [24,25] during nighttime and ∼70 m/s during daytime [26].…”

“…Another spacecraft that has used the interferometer technique is the the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) [23]. On board this spacecraft was the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII), a Michelson interferometer measuring Doppler shifts of the green (557.7 nm) and red line (630.0 nm) airglow emissions at the Earth's limb.…”

Several notes on the OH* layer

“…It is widely utilized for temperature measurements in the mesopause region (e.g., Offermann and Gerndt, 1990;She and Lowe, 1998;Innis et al, 2001;Bittner et al, 2000Bittner et al, , 2002Espy et al, 1995Espy et al, , 2007. A large number of observations are directed at dynamic processes, e.g., gravity waves (GWs), planetary waves, and tides (Tarasick and Shepherd, 1992;Taylor et al, 1991Taylor et al, , 1995aTaylor et al, , b, 1997Makhlouf et al, 1995Makhlouf et al, , 1998Offermann et al, 2009, Shepherd et al, 2012, and references therein). Minor chemical constituents in the mesopause, which are scarcely retrieved by other means, e.g., atomic oxygen (Russell et al, 2005;, ozone (Smith et al, 2008(Smith et al, , 2009, and atomic hydrogen (Thomas, 1990;Takahashi et al, 1996;Mlynczak et al, 2014), were measured by the observation of airglow emission.…”