June 7, 2010 version 3.21.

June 7, 2010 version 4.10

PMC Frequency NH 2007-2010

AIM CIPS image of a noctilucent cloud in the northern summer polar region on June 19, 2009. The dark area centered on the pole is a region where no data were taken due to the orbit geometry. The dark area in the midst of clouds in the upper right quadrant is an ice void region. The sharp triangular features are artifacts caused by camera field of view edge effects. The orientation is with the United States down in the plot. The image was provided by the AIM CIPS team at the University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Sapce Physics in cooperation with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia and Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
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AIM CIPS image of a noctilucent cloud in the northern summer polar region on June 23, 2009. Most of the dark area centered on the pole is a region where no data were taken due to the orbit geometry. This image shows some unusal cloud stuctures in the top quadrant and shows the presence of clouds almost as low as 60 degrees north. The sharp triangular features on the upper left and the clean vertical breaks in the clouds on the right are artifacts caused by camera field of view edge effects. The image was provided by the AIM CIPS team at the University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Sapce Physics in cooperation with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia and Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
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AIM CIPS image of a noctilucent cloud in the northern summer polar region on July 1, 2007. The dark area centered on the pole is a region where no data were taken due to the orbit geometry. The dark area in the midst of clouds in the upper right quadrant is an ice void region. The orientation is with the United States down in the plot. The image was provided by the AIM CIPS team at the University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Sapce Physics in cooperation with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia and Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
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AIM CIPS image of a noctilucent cloud in the northern summer polar region on July 15, 2009. On this day, a broad range of cloud brightness exists from very bright in the left of the figure to relatively dim clouds on the right. The orientation is with the United States down in the plot. The image was provided by the AIM CIPS team at the University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Sapce Physics in cooperation with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia and Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
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AIM CIPS image of a noctilucent cloud in the northern summer polar region on July 21, 2009. The dark area in the midst of clouds just above the North Pole is an ice void region. This image shows a highly variable cloud field with many small scale features. The clean edges in the features on the far right are artifacts caused by camera field of view edge effects. The orientation is with the United States down in the plot. The image was provided by the AIM CIPS team at the University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Sapce Physics in cooperation with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia and Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
Download a high-resolution JPG of this image for print.

Average PMC intensity 23 days after solstice for the north pole as measured by the CIPS instrument, 2007. Credit: LASP

Average PMC intensity 23 days after solstice for the south pole as measured by the CIPS instrument, 2007-2008. Credit: LASP

PMCs on June 21, 2008 as measured by the CIPS Instrument. Credit: LASP.

Comparison of CIPS PMCs (left) and SABER T - Tf (right) on June 4, 2007.

CIPS, SOFIE, and SABER Geographic Coverage

CIPS ~ 50km altitude observations of gravity waves in the stratosphere on 27 August 2007 at 72°N. (a) a 1-D line scan through a CIPS image. (b) a wavelet analysis of the data in (a).

An extensive wave event (horizontal wavelength ~250 km) imaged by CIPS in the PMC layer over Greenland.

CIPS daily PMC occurrence frequency in the NH in 2007; for view angles less than 1.5°.

CIPS scene showing a well defined wave event.

CIPS (red) and SBUV (blue) daily average brightness for all PMCs detected in the NH in 2007.

PMCs in the Southern Hemisphere. Credit: LASP

Credit: LASP

Credit: LASP

Credit: LASP

The one millionth CIPS image of any kind was taken on Saturday, 21 Feb 2009 at 17:26:31UTC (10:26:31 AM Mountain time). It was an MX normal science image taken during orbit 9957, while the spacecraft was at 62.5S, 94.0W, over the South Pacific Ocean near South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. All four cameras snapped simultaneously at that time, but this one is in row one million in the database. No clouds are immediately apparent in this image, but it is an MX image, so the clouds are dimmest here.