Abstracts Mathematics

Investigating Atmospheric Gravity Waves Using 3-Dimensional Spectral Analysis

by Kenneth I. Zia

Atmospheric gravity waves (GW) are generated from the ground and go into the upper layers of the atmosphere where space begins. These waves have strong effects on the temperature and circulation of the Earth’s atmosphere. The temperature changes caused by these waves are observed through special cameras looking at light that the Earth’s atmosphere naturally emit at night. One of these cameras is placed at McMurdo Station, Antarctica where the long nights are used to see these waves longer than anywhere else. The images captured there are automatically analyzed to determine wave properties to better understand how often they are there, how strong, and in what direction they are moving. All of there are important pieces of information in understanding them and their influences better. This document details how these waves are formed and move, the production of the naturally occurring light of the atmosphere, and the analysis used to gather information on the waves. Then later chapters discuss results the analysis found of waves making it to the edge of space and the properties they exhibit there.