A new three-wavelength Fabry–Perot interferometer developed to measure the upper atmosphere at Chongyang

A new three-wavelength Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI) was developed at Wuhan University and deployed in Chongyang (114.1°E, 29.5°N), Hubei Province, China, for a short-term observation campaign to measure the temperature and wind in the upper atmosphere. The three wavelengths (892.0, 557.7, and 630.0 nm) correspond to typical emission layers at approximately 87, 97, and 250 km, respectively. A case measurement obtained on June 13, 2024, is presented together with the results from the Naval Research Laboratory Mass Spectrometer and Incoherent Scatter Radar Exosphere 2.1 (NRLMSIS 2.1), meteor radar, and Horizontal Wind Model 2014 (HWM14) for comparison, which includes the temperature, zenith wind, meridional wind, and zonal wind. The zenith winds are very weak at 87 and 97 km but exceed –20 m/s at 250 km. The horizontal wind fields from the three data sources all show similar variation trends, but the FPI and meteor radar are more consistent. A multi-day comparison from June 12 to 15, 2024, reveals that the linear regression slopes between the FPI and the meteor radar are 0.92 and 0.94 at 87 km, and 1.29 and 1.07 at 97 km, indicating that the FPI and meteor radar measurements are in reasonable agreement at these altitudes. The comparative analysis indicates that the three-wavelength FPI is capable of providing reasonable measurements of wind and temperature.