Solar atmospheric tides are natural oscillations of 24, 12, 8... hours that contribute to the circulation of the atmosphere from low to high altitudes. The Sun heats the atmosphere periodically because, mainly, water vapor and ozone absorb solar radiation between the ground and 50 km height during the day. Tides propagate upward and they can be observed in, for example, the wind field. This work presents diurnal tides observed by meteor radars which measure wind between 80 and 100 km height.

Some strong gravity wave activity occurred and was observed on 8 April 2005. This work reports the spectral characteristics of these waves using OH airglow images captured by the all-sky imager installed at São João do Cariri (7.4° S, 36.5° W). A preferential propagation direction was observed due to the positioning of the source and also due to the wind filtering effect. Furthermore, the source of these waves was identified by performing reverse-ray tracing analysis.

In this paper, an extensive study has been done in order to investigate periodic oscillations in the start times of equatorial plasma bubbles observed over Brazil. Using OI6300 airglow images and ionograms, it was possible to detect semimonthly oscillations in the start times of equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) and equatorial Spread-F. This semimonthly oscillation is likely related to the lunar tide, which represents an important mechanism acting in the day-to-day variability of EPBs.

Present work reports seasonal characteristics of small- and medium-scale gravity waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region. All-sky images of the hydroxyl airglow emission layer over São João do Cariri (7.4° S, 36.5° W) were observed from September 2000 to December 2010, during a total of 1496 nights and obtained 2343 SSGW and 537 MSGW events. The horizontal propagation directions of SSGWs and MSGWs showed clear seasonal variations based on the influence of the wind filtering process.

On 3 October 2005, a mesospheric front was observed over São João do Cariri (7.4° S, 36.5° W) propagating to the northeast in the OH airglow images. One and a half hours later, it disappeared completely and ripples were observed in the eastern part of the images. After studying the background atmosphere, the main conclusion of this work was that the instability in the airglow layer did not allow the propagation of the front to the other side of the local zenith.

This article presents characteristics of periodic waves observed in the thermosphere from airglow images collected in the Northeast of Brazil. Using simultaneous measurements of the background wind in the airglow emission altitudes, it was possible to estimate the intrinsic parameters and the role of the wind in the propagation of the waves into the thermosphere. An anisotropy in the propagation direction of the waves was observed and it could be explained by the wind filtering process.

A comparative study of the quasi-16-day wave in the middle from three Brazilian stations, indicates multiple modes of the concerned wave component. The wave amplitude shows maxima in summer and winter. A potential coupling of the concerned wave with other short period planetary waves is found. The dominant wave components vary from the westward to eastward from the tropical to mid-latitude in the stratosphere. The prevailing westerly wind may favor the wave filtering of westward waves.

Periodic waves have been observed over São João do Cariri during almost one solar cycle. Similarities between the characteristics of these events with observations at other places around the world were noted, primarily the spectral parameters. Most observed waves have appeared during magnetically quiet nights, and the occurrence of those waves followed the solar activity. Due to their characteristics, most of them must have had different generation mechanisms from the Perkins instability.

This paper reports two consecutive mesospheric bores observed in the airglow emissions (OH and OI5577). Both bores propagated to the east and showed similar spectral characteristics. However, the first one exhibited a dark leading front with several trailing waves behind and progressed into a brighter airglow region. However, the second bore, observed in the OH layer, was comprised of several bright waves propagating into a darker airglow region.