On Deriving Gravity Wave Characteristics in the Daytime Upper Atmosphere Using Radio Technique

The importance of neutral wave dynamics in the understanding of the upper atmospheric processes is well known. Conventionally, optical methods are used to derive information on the neutral wave dynamics by obtaining gravity wave (GW) characteristics. Optical measurement techniques use airglow emissions as tracers to obtain such information that correspond to altitudes from where the emissions emanate. However, in this paper, we describe a method using radio wave measurement technique (digisonde) to obtain information on the neutral GW behavior. It involves monitoring of variations in the heights of isoelectron densities as a function of time, and their phase shifts, if any, to derive vertical propagation speeds and scale sizes of GWs. The daytime values of GW time periods, vertical phase speeds, and vertical scale sizes obtained for the duration of 16–21 May 2015 are in the range of 1.47 ± 0.05 to 2.64 ± 0.07 hr, 30.06 ± 4.35 to 45.69 ± 11.84 m/s, and 183.21 ± 39.23 to 393.07 ± 66.38 km, respectively. Further, we have used the GW dispersion relation to make a first-order estimation of the horizontal scale sizes. This method of deriving neutral GW characteristics through radio measurement technique is effective for the daytime conditions and opens up new possibilities of investigations of the wave dynamical behavior in the upper atmosphere during all weather conditions.