| Noctilucent clouds (NLC) / Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMC) are brightly lit, high-altitude clouds located near the high-latitude mesopause region which typically occur during the summer. Due to the physical and chemical connections between their upper and lower boundary atmosphere, it has been suggested that these clouds may hold valuable global climate information relating to long-term changes in the upper atmosphere. The goal of this dissertation is to explore the nature of the effect, if any, of polar mesospheric clouds on mesospheric ozone chemistry. First we will determine the atmospheric temperature fluctuations followed by the PMC forcing dynamics, along with examining the year-to-year variations. Trend information may be obtained towards this end. By analysis of the SOFIE Ozone data as collected by the AIM satellite, in addition to the year-to-year variations. This may shed insight as to the nature and variations of the polar mesospheric cloud formation. |
