GROUND-BASED FABRY-PEROT INTERFEROMETRY OF THE TERRESTRIAL NIGHTGLOW WITH A BARE CHARGE-COUPLED-DEVICE - REMOTE FIELD SITE DEPLOYMENT

The application of Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPIs) to the study of upper atmosphere thermodynamics has largely been restricted by the ver y low light levels in the terrestrial airglow as well as the limited r ange in wavelength of photomultiplier tube (PMT) technology. During th e past decade, the development of the scientific grade charge-coupled device (CCD) has progressed to the stage in which this detector has be come the logical replacement for the PMT. Small fast microcomputers ha ve made it possible to ''upgrade'' our remote field sites with bare CC Ds and not only retain the previous capabilities of the existing FPIs but expand the data coverage in both temporal and wavelength domains. The problems encountered and the solutions applied to the deployment o f a bare CCD, with data acquisition and image reduction techniques, ar e discussed. Sample geophysical data determined from the FPI fringe pr ofiles are shown for our stations at Peach Mountain, Michigan, and Wat son Lake, Yukon Territory.