Measuring And Tracking Atmospheric Disturbances Using Observations and Ray-Tracing (MATADOR)

Gravity waves (GWs) are atmospheric waves generated by wind flow over mountains and by meteorological sources ncluding weather systems and convection. They transport energy and momentum globally. They can also couple nto the electrically-charged ionosphere, where they generate travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) which disrupt radio communication and navigation systems1. Understanding how GWs travel through the neutral atmosphere and couple into the ionosphere is thus vital for numerical weather prediction, climate modelling, and space weather forecasting. Designed as a 4-year project, MATADOR will use my new GW observational techniques to investigate two key research questions:

A Where are the sources and sinks of atmospheric waves?
B How do waves couple the neutral and ionised atmosphere?