OBSERVATIONS OF 2-DIMENSIONAL AIRGLOW STRUCTURE AND NA DENSITY FROM THE ALOHA, OCTOBER 9, 1993 STORM FLIGHT

On October 9, 1993, observations were made from the NCAR Electra aircr aft during a 7 hour flight towards a tropospheric low pressure system NW of Maui. A very bright (>50% intensity amplitude) OH wave (similar to 200 km horizontal wavelength) was encountered similar to 900 km NW of Maui. The OH volume weighted Na column density measured by the lida r increased 4-fold at the same location. OH imagery showed the wave ph ase front was aligned NE-SW, similar to the tropospheric airmass bound ary which was located similar to 2000 km NW of Maui. This 'wall' wave had an apparent phase velocity (v(phi)) of 75 ms(-1) toward the SE and was observed overhead Haleakala, Maui similar to 3 1/4 hours later. T he 'wall'' appeared to represent the southern boundary for an extensiv e short horizontal wavelength structure, with a similar phase front al ignment. This structure had weak amplitudes initially but was fully de veloped similar to 1 hour after encountering the wall. The details of OH imagery, intensity, and Na structure associated with this event are summarized.