This week we opened up the RDL to understand its anatomy and got much more power out! All in all the laser gods were pleased! First, we took the dye jet pump apart, cleaned it up, and added new dye bit by bit to get 20% transmission. Then Dr. Chu showed us how to adjust… Read More

With the start of the Fall 2021 semester, we’re finally back in the lab working on system development and training! Our lab goals this semester focus around the development of existing components into a working Sodium Doppler lidar. To do this, we must first train and get familiar with the systems after such a long… Read More

We received an NSF award notice on Sunday 8/22/2021 that the McMurdo lidar project has been renewed for 5 more years of lidar observations and science discoveries in Antarctica. Can’t wait to go back to the Ice and turn on our lidars to make more discoveries!… Read More

We just published a paper in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) on the first lidar observations of regular occurrence of mid-latitude thermosphere-ionosphere Na (TINa) layers over Boulder. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093729 This is the first time that metal layers are regularly seen at these extreme altitudes in the atmosphere. Just 10 years ago, Chu’s team discovered such high-altitude metal… Read More

Since the last update was posted, the world looks a little different. Although last March most of us transitioned into working from home, our Lidar scientists Xianxin Li and Cissi Lin remained away from home at the McMurdo Lidar facility throughout the entire Antarctic Winter season working to continue collecting data and operating the systems.… Read More

We just published a new paper in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) on the first-ever simultaneous lidar observations of iron (Fe) and sodium (Na) metal layers in the Antarctic thermosphere and ionosphere system. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL090181 Interplanetary dust particles, also called cosmic dust, have a widespread impact on Earth. They introduce metal atoms and ions into Earth’s upper… Read More

Our lidar team just published a paper in Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR-Atmospheres) to report the first discovery of equatorial QBO signals in Antarctic gravity wave activity at McMurdo. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020JD032866 The first author, Zimu Li, was the lidar technical lead for winter 2019 at McMurdo Station and collected a large amount of lidar data. Congratulations… Read More

One of the many beautiful sights surrounding our town is Observation (“Ob”) Hill. Hiking to the top, beautiful views of McMurdo station, Scott Base, and Arrival Heights surround us. The cross was left as a memorial to Scott and the members of his team who died on their return from the South Pole.… Read More

One of the scientific outreach / community engagement events at McMurdo Station is the Wednesday Night Science Lecture series. Dr. Chu gave an hour long lecture titled “A Decade of Shooting Towards the Stars- What Have We Learned?” The rest of our Arrival Heights team, Xianxin Li, Jackson Jandreau, Cissi Lin, and I (Amanda Steckel)… Read More

Mark Tolbert and Chris Haimberger from Toptica have met us in Antarctica! They will stay for 8 days to help us upgrade equipment and improve performance from our toptica lasers. We are operating these lasers, designed to work in well-controlled optical labs, in an extreme environment. We have to put a lot of care and… Read More