Upward Propagating Gravity Waves in the lower and middle ionosphere (UPGW)

Gravity waves (GWs) are an important class of atmospheric waves that can propagate from the troposphere up to the upper atmosphere, where they can contribute significantly to dynamical changes in the ionosphere. The aim of the UPGW project was to gain a deeper understanding of the coupling between the lower and the middle ionosphere via gravity waves by the concurrent analysis of narrowband VLF (characterizing GWs in the lower ionosphere), continuous HF Doppler (characterizing GWs in the middle ionosphere) and lightning data provided by the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). Thereby, the research is expected to contribute to a better understanding and mitigation of the distorting effects of atmospheric waves on satellite communications and global GNSS-based positioning.