A new technique for the analysis of neutral air density fluctuations measured in situ in the middle atmosphere

Abstract

We consider the analysis of mesospheric neutral air density fluctuations caused by turbulent eddy motions as measured by rocket borne ionization gauges. After shortly reviewing the so far standard Fourier‐approach we introduce wavelets as a suitable tool to derive spectral information of the data both as a function of spatial scale and altitude. Applying both techniques to a data set obtained during a recent sounding rocket campaign we show that both methods yield consistent results, however, the wavelet technique yields additional information on the actual vertical extent of the observed turbulent structures.