Cross-Wave Profiles of Altitude and Particle Size of Noctilucent Clouds in the Case of One-Dimensional Small-Scale Gravity Wave Pattern

TL;DR

This study uses three-color wide-field observations to analyze how a one-dimensional gravity wave affects the altitude and particle size of noctilucent clouds, enabling detailed parameter changes during wave passage.

Contribution

It introduces a method to determine altitude and particle size variations of noctilucent clouds caused by gravity waves using simple optical imaging and three-color photometry.

Findings

Altitude and particle size vary with gravity wave phase.

Long wave crests are aligned near the solar vertical.

Optical imaging captures dynamic cloud parameter changes.

Abstract

This paper describes the wide-field three-color observations of an expanded field of noctilucent clouds modulated by a one-dimensional gravity wave. Long wave crests were aligned by a small angle to the solar vertical in the sky. This made possible separate determination of altitude and particle size at different wave phases based on three-color photometry of noctilucent clouds. Thereby, it is possible to use simple optical imaging to record the changes in the parameters of noctilucent clouds when a short-period gravity wave passes by.