Mesospheric gravity waves and ionospheric plasma bubbles observed during the COPEX campaign

Abstract During the Conjugate Point Experiment (COPEX) campaign performed at Boa Vista ( 2 . 80 ∘ N ; 60 . 70 ∘ W , dip angle 21 . 7 ∘ N ) from October to December 2002, 15 medium-scale gravity waves in the OHNIR airglow images were observed. Using a Keogram image analysis, we estimate their parameters. Most of the waves propagate to Northwest, indicating that their main sources are Southeast of Boa Vista. Quasi-simultaneous plasma bubble activities in the OI 630 nm images were observed in seven cases. The distances between the bubble depletions have a linear relationship with the wavelengths of the gravity waves observed in the mesosphere, which suggests a direct contribution of the mesospheric medium-scale gravity waves in seeding the equatorial plasma bubbles.

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