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Proceedings with Extended Abstracts (single PDF file) - Radio ...

Proceedings with Extended Abstracts (single PDF file) - Radio ...

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APPLICATIONS OF A WORLD-WIDE NETWORK OFMESOSPHERIC RADARS, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THECOLUMBIA SPACE SHUTTLE DISASTERW. K. Hocking 1 , S. Franke 2 , N. Mitchell 3 , D. Pancheva 3 , P. Batista 4 , B. Clemesha 4 , B.Fuller 5 , B. Vandepeer 5 , T. Nakamura 6 , T. Tsuda 6 , J. MacDougall 11. University of Western Ontario, Canada.2. University of Illinois, USA.3. Bath University, UK.4. INPE, Brazil.5. Genesis Software Pty. Ltd., Australia.6. RASC, Japan.Dynamical motions in the mesosphere are some of the most intense in the Earth'satmosphere. Gravity waves, tides and planetary waves are in continual complex motion, andhurricane-strength winds exceeding 80 m/s (300 km/hr) are not unusual. Intense turbulencedissipation is not uncommon. The region is, however, often ignored, largely because (i) it ishigh above our heads and (ii) densities are so low that the impact of the motions arediminished compared to interactions in the much more dense troposphere.The region also has the possibility to affect rocket and Shuttle launches, but in general theeffects are not severe because of the diminished densities at these heights. However, extremain dynamical quantities can possibly have an impact. In this talk, we demonstrate the value ofa world-wide network of middle atmosphere radars for understanding this region, and as aparticular example we use data from a network of equatorial radars to reconstruct the windfield experienced by the Space Shuttle Columbia during its final minutes. An important resultis a large wind shear deduced to have occurred at 60 to 65 km altitude over Texas at the timethat Columbia passed through, due to an unfortunate alignment of the 2-day wave and thediurnal tide. The extent to which this may have contributed to the destruction of Columbia isunder investigation.460

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