UKSBS RE18265 All-sky multi-filter airglow imager instrument

British Antarctic Survey wish to purchase a new all-sky multi-filter airglow imager system to be located at Rothera research station, Antarctica. Airglow is the name given to naturally occurring light emitted by the Earth's atmosphere.

There are several prominent airglow emissions arising in the atmosphere (altitude range 80 -100 km). different filters will allow us to observe and image the different emissions at different altitudes. The primary purpose of this work is to determine the characterisitics of atmospheric gravity waves in the Antarctic middle atmosphere, these waves appear as lightand dark bands in the airglow images.

Atmospheric gravity waves are vitally important in transporting energy and momentum throughout the atmosphere, when they break they deposit this and thus drive atmospheric circulation. Atmospheric gravity waves are not well represented in global climate models, observations are needed to help constrain how they are represented in models. The imager system will not only allow us to determine the nature of the gravity wave field around Rothera but will also allow us to determine how they change with altitude (thanks to the multi-filter system).