Comparison of Rayleigh-scatter and sodium resonance lidar temperatures

We present an unprecedented comparison of temperature measurements from the Rayleigh-scatter (RS) and sodium (Na) lidar techniques. The extension of the RS technique into the lower thermosphere that has been achieved by the group at Utah State University (USU), enables simultaneous, common-volume measurements by the two lidar systems hosted in the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory at USU. The two lidars’ nightly averaged temperatures from 80-105 km, based on 19 nights of observations, are explored.