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| Titel |
High-resolution spectra of sprites and halos with GRASSP |
| VerfasserIn |
Francisco J. Gordillo-Vázquez, María Passas, Justo Sánchez, Francisco J. Pérez-Invernón, Alejandro Luque, Oscar van der Velde, Joan Montanyà |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2017
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
en
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 19 (2017) |
| Datensatznummer |
250141137
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2017-4611.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| The first and simultaneous spectroscopic campaigns of TLEs were carried out in the mid
1990s [1, 2], soon after the discovery of TLEs in 1989 [3]. These initial campaigns provided
preliminary results on the optical emissions of TLEs corresponding to the first positive
system (FPS) of N2(B3Πg) → N2(A3Σu+) in the visible and near infrared (NIR) spectral
range (540–840 nm) recorded at standard video rate (30 fps) and at low (between 9 and 6 nm)
spectral resolution.
More recently, in 2007, spectroscopic observations of sprite optical emissions between
640 nm and 820 nm provided information on the relative vibrational concentrations of the
emitting electronic state N2(B3Πg, v’) at different altitudes using higher video rate (300 fps)
and higher spectral resolution (3 nm) spectrographs [4] originally designed for aurora
spectroscopy [5].
The above mentioned sporadic TLE spectroscopic campaigns identified some of the key
optical emissions from sprites (a type of TLE) and were even able to quantify some of the
vibrational concentrations of the emitting levels in reasonable agreement with model
predictions [6–8]. However, the best spectral resolution achieved to date is 3 nm and it is not
enough to spectrally resolve the different low-lying vibro-rotational transitions of the FPS of
N2.
This contribution focuses on (1) the latest upgrades of the GRanada Sprite Spectrograph
and Polarimeter (GRASSP), a ground-based medium-high spectral resolution spectrograph
aimed at characterizing from ground the spectroscopic fingerprints of all sort of TLEs
occurring in the mesosphere of the Earth and (2) the GRASSP 2015, 2016 summer-autumn
TLE spectroscopic campaign in Europe when we recorded high-resolution spectra of sprite
halos and columniform and carrot-like sprites.
GRASSP works at 0.235 nm spectral resolution covering the spectral range between 700
nm and 800 nm. The last version of GRASSP is currently installed in Castellgalí, Barcelona
(Spain), it is aimed and operated manually by the operator from the UPC group on-site or
operated remotely from IAA-CSIC in Granada.
GRASSP is already being used for systematic TLE spectroscopic surveys in
Europe as part of the ground support for the future Atmospheric Space Interaction
Monitor (ASIM) and the Tool for the Analysis of RAdiation from LightNIng and
Sprites (TARANIS) space missions to be launch by the end of 2017 and 2018,
respectively.
[1] S. B. Mende, R. L. Rairden, G. R. Swenson, and W. A. Lyons, (1995) Geophys. Res.
Lett. 22, 2633
[2] D. L. Hampton, M. J. Heavner, E. M. Wescott, and D. D. Sentman, (1996) Geophys.
Res. Lett. 23, 89
[3] R. C. Franz, R. J. Nemzek, and J. R. Winckler, (1990) Science 249, 48
[4] T. Kanmae, H. C. Stenbaek-Nielsen, and M. G. McHarg, (2007) Geophys. Res. Lett.
34, L07, 810
[5] T. J. Hallinan, H. C. Stenbaek-Nielsen, and C. S. Deehr, (1985) J. Geophys. Res. 90,
8461–8475
[6] F. J. Gordillo-Vázquez, A. Luque, and M. Simek, (2011) J. Geophys. Res. (Space
Phys) 116, A09, 319
[7] A. Luque and F. J. Gordillo-Vázquez, (2011) J. Geophys. Res. (Space Phys) 116
(A15), A02, 306
[8] F. J. Gordillo-Vázquez, A. Luque, and M. Simek, (2012) J. Geophys. Res. (Space
Phys) 117, A05, 329 |
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