Historical line of airglow observations at Comandante Ferraz Brazilian Station: measurements of temperature and studies on gravity waves.

The thermal dynamics of the upper atmosphere, especially in the mesosphere, have been improving our understanding about the effects of climate change, as well as how the dynamics and general circulation in the upper atmosphere are driven by different types of waves, such as the atmospheric gravity waves, planetary waves and atmospheric tides. In order to study the upper atmospheric temperature variability and gravity waves, several research groups have been employing the remote technique of observing the airglow emissions originated in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere, besides emissions from the ionosphere. INPE's airglow group started the studies on emissions from the upper atmosphere to investigate temperature and dynamics in the mesosphere, thermosphere/ionosphere at the end of 70's. However, only in 2001 this group sent the first airglow experiment to the Brazilian Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz (EACF) to measure the OH (8-3) emission and temperature. From that year to 2014, several other experiments were carried out at EACF, not only to measure the temperature and airglow intensities, but also to observe gravity waves, winds and other related phenomena. This paper presents airglow experiments at EACF from 2001 to the present, including illustrations, examples of already published results, and unpublished data.

Highlights of ionospheric investigations at Comandante Ferraz Brazilian Antarctic Station.

The ionospheric investigations have improved our understanding of the space weather role in the upper atmosphere conditions, particularly at higher latitudes where the geospace phenomena print their signatures. The simultaneous observations using multi-instruments have improved our knowledge of the coupling processes inside the ionosphere, and their connection with the magnetosphere and neutral atmosphere processes under the space weather phenomena. The ionosphere probing at EACF started on 1986 using an analogical very low frequency (VLF) system, and after the year 2004 using digital VLF system, global navigation satellite system (GNSS), riometers and Canadian digital ionosonde (CADI). This paper presents the different radio techniques that have been used at Brazilian Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz (EACF) to characterize the ionospheric conditions, and the highlights of the studies using multi-instrument observations performed in the last few decades.