Hurricane Helene's atmospheric waves captured by NASA's new AWE mission

On Sept. 26, 2024, as Hurricane Helene struck Florida's Gulf Coast with powerful storm surges and severe impacts, NASA's Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) captured unprecedented data on the atmospheric disturbances it generated. Located about 55 miles above Earth, these disturbances, known as atmospheric gravity waves, were recorded as immense ripples through the upper atmosphere, offering valuable insights into the ways Earth's severe weather events impact space weather.

The AWE instrument, which captured these images, showed the gravity waves as concentric bands radiating from northern Florida, with colors artificially enhanced in red, yellow, and blue for clarity. "Like rings of water spreading from a drop in a pond, circular waves from Helene are seen billowing westward from Florida's northwest coast," said Ludger Scherliess, who is the AWE principal investigator at Utah State University in Logan.

Installed on the International Space Station in November 2023, AWE is designed to observe atmospheric gravity waves - ripple-like formations that can result from intense atmospheric events such as hurricanes, thunderstorms, and wind bursts. The instrument captures these patterns by detecting variations in airglow brightness in Earth's mesosphere, aiding scientists in understanding how terrestrial weather interacts with and affects space weather.

The release of these gravity wave images marks a milestone for AWE, demonstrating the instrument's precision and ability to monitor how extreme weather on Earth can influence our space environment.