NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS AND WAVE DYNAMICS - OBSERVATIONS AT SONDRESTROM, GREENLAND

Rayleigh Lidar measurements of the arctic summer stratosphere and meso sphere have been conducted routinely since 1994 at the Sondrestrom atm ospheric research facility near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland (67.0N, 50.9W ). Between 1994 and 1996, seventeen separate events of noctilucent clo uds (NLCs), as well as corresponding stratospheric wave structure, hav e been observed. We present in this study two main results: 1) the occ urrence of persistent quasi-monochromatic wave structure in the strato sphere having observed vertical wavelengths of 8 to 12 km and observed temporal periods of approximately 2-3 hours, and 2) evidence that the strength of such lower altitude waves may be associated with the over all strength of the observed NLC volume backscatter coefficient.