A new Fabry-Perot interferometer for upper atmosphere research

A new Fabry-Perot interferometer was built and later deployed at Resolute, Canada (75° N), the future site of the National Science Foundation Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR). The new instrument is designed to measure mesospheric and lower thermospheric tidal waves and the upper thermosphere polar cap convection pattern using OH, O 5577 a and 6300 a emissions. The wind errors for these emissions are 6 m/s (3 minute integration), 1 m/s (3 minute) and 2-6 m/s (5 minute), respectively. The instrument was tested in Boulder, Colorado and measurement results are compared with nearby LIDAR mesospheric neutral wind measurements. The comparison showed good agreement between the two instruments. Neutral wind data obtained at Resolute also demonstrate that the instrument meets the design goal and is able to provide high quality data for future studies of mesospheric and lower thermospheric dynamics as well as magnetospheric-ionospheric coupling, along with ion-neutral coupling in the upper atmosphere of the polar cap. This report describes the basic design and initial results from this instrument.