Sodium fluorescence Doppler lidar to measure atmospheric temperature in the mesopause region

A sodium fluorescence Doppler lidar system has been developed to measure environmental parameters of the middle and upper atmosphere. The lidar system mainly comprises a transmitter system,receiver system,data acquisition and control system and data analysis system. A narrowband 589 nm laser is used to excite sodium atoms in the mesopause region. Excitation of the sodium atoms results in resonance fluorescence,which is collected by the receiver. The temperatures in the mesopause region(about 75-105 km) can be derived by analyzing the Doppler-broadened width of the sodium fluorescence. Observations were made with the lidar system,and the number density of sodium atoms and atmospheric temperature profiles were extracted from the observation data. Comparisons of the lidar temperatures and TIMED/SABER temperatures show good agreement,illustrating the reliability of the sodium fluorescence Doppler lidar measurements.

High-precision temperature retrieval algorithm and verification for mesospheric airglow spectrum photometer

Photometric technology,characterized by its compact structure and relatively high stability,finds wide application in measuring airglow spectra.This instrumentation is anticipated to assume a pivotal role as the primary equipment for extensive network observations of middle and upper atmospheric temperatures in China,thereby providing crucial support for space environmental monitoring and atmospheric dynamic research.Nevertheless,susceptibility to various factors such as instrument inconsistency,variability in observation conditions,and alterations in the background atmospheric environment across different stations poses a challenge,potentially resulting in data inconsistencies in network observations.In response to these challenges,we propose a multiple-parameter iterative inversion(MPII)algorithm for temperature retrieval based on a mesospheric airglow spectrum photometer(MASP)developed by our research group.This algorithm accurately identifies the center of the image circle,corrects image distortion,and thereby obtains an accurate synthetic spectrum reflective of actual observations.It encompasses five adjustable parameters:sky background light,atmospheric temperature,filter temperature,optical system focal length,and degree of synthetic spectrum modulation.Compared to traditional methods,significant enhancements in the accuracy of the inverted temperature are achieved.To validate the effectiveness of the MPII algorithm,we conducted combined active and passive remote sensing synchronous measurements using MASP in conjunction with a sodium fluorescence Doppler lidar developed by the National Space Science Center.By utilizing the lidar temperature as a reference,atmospheric background radiation is mitigated from the MASP data,and the temperature is inverted using the MPII algorithm.Comparative analysis with the traditional method reveals that temperatures calculated by the MPII algorithm exhibit better consistency than those observed by the lidar.