ALOHA_FY94: Airborne Lidar and Observations of Hawaiian Airglow

Summary

Airborne Lidar and Observations of the Hawaiian Airglow - FY 94 (ALOHA-FY94). The Hawaiian phase of this program was a continuation of previous airborne observations to study stratosphere-mesosphere dynamics, polar mesospheric clouds, and sporadic layering phenomena in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The primary research tool was the University of Illinois Rayleigh-sodium lidar. The Electra was used as an airborne platform for this large lidar system, and also carried its standard complement of instrumentation. Additional mesospheric observations were made with the University of Michigan Ebert-Fastie spectrometer, and airglow measurements were obtained with an instrument from the Lockheed Corporation. The Hawaii base was used for nighttime flight missions to map the near-equatorial region. Other missions included flight legs to Tahiti. Numerous ground-based instruments on Hawaii and Christmas Island provided concurrent data. The flight observations were also coordinated with satellite overpasses.