[P-EM15] Study of coupling processes in solar-terrestrial system

[PEM15-16] The MATS satellite mission - gravity waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere

*Jorg Gumbel¹, Linda Megner¹, Donal P. Murtagh², Nickolay Ivchenko³, Bjorn Linder¹, Lukas Krasauskas¹, Ole-Martin Christensen¹, Jonas Hedin¹, Jacek Stegman¹ (1.Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, 2.Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, 3.Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden)

Keywords:gravity waves, mesosphere, thermosphere, ionosphere, satellite, tomography

Gravity waves control the circulation of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. They also play a central role in coupling this region to conditions in both the lower atmosphere and the ionosphere. Global three-dimensional data are a key to understanding gravity waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. In November 2022, the Swedish MATS satellite was launched into orbit to address this need. MATS applies space-borne limb imaging in combination with tomographic and spectroscopic analysis to study 3D atmospheric structures over a wide range of spatial scales. Measurement targets are O₂ Atmospheric Band airglow in the near infrared, and sunlight scattered from noctilucent clouds in the ultraviolet. This presentation provides an overview over the mission and first results. An interesting perspective is the combination of 3D data from MATS and EISCAT_3D to study neutral and ionospheric wave processes over a wide range of spatial scales.