Gravity waves in the arctic mesosphere during the MaCWAVE/MIDAS summer rocket program

The MaCWAVE/MIDAS rocket campaign occurred at the Andøya Rocket Range (69°N,16°E) on July 1–2 and 4–5, 2002. This paper investigates gravity waves in the mesosphere using falling spheres dropped from rockets and the Weber sodium lidar at the ALOMAR observatory. The vertical displacement of a sodium sporadic layer on July 5 showed great variability at periods from minutes to hours with an observed frequency spectral slope of −1.89. The 2 salvos had similar wave amplitudes at the mesopause, whereas Salvo 2 had stronger amplitudes in the lower atmosphere. The dominant wave period varied strongly with height, possibly due to wave breaking on the strong mean gradients or oblique propagation of wave packets. One long‐period wave appeared to propagate vertically from 75–95 km with a reduction of its vertical wavelength consistent with the mean wind gradient, but it is unclear whether it was a single wave or a superposition of waves.