Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics www.atmos-chem-phys.net 1680-7316 1680-7324 7 18 2007 10.5194/acp-7-4943-2007 http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/4943/2007/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/4943/2007/acp-7-4943-2007.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/4943/2007/acp-7-4943-2007.pdf 4943 4951 2007-09-26 Evidence of gravity waves into the atmosphere during the March 2006 total solar eclipse C. S. Zerefos E. Gerasopoulos I. Tsagouri B. E. Psiloglou A. Belehaki T. Herekakis A. Bais S. Kazadzis C. Eleftheratos N. Kalivitis N. Mihalopoulos National Observatory of Athens, V. Pavlou & I. Metaxa, P. Penteli, 15236, Athens, Greece Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Physics Department, Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Thessaloniki, Greece Foundation for Biomedical Research, Academy of Athens, Greece University of Crete, Chemistry Department, Environmental and Chemical Processes Laboratory, Crete, Greece This study aims at providing experimental evidence, to support the hypothesis according to which the movement of the moon's shadow sweeping the ozone layer at supersonic speed, during a solar eclipse, creates gravity waves in the atmosphere. An experiment was conducted to study eclipse induced thermal fluctuations in the ozone layer (via measurements of total ozone column, ozone photolysis rates and UV irradiance), the ionosphere (Ionosonde Total Electron Content – ITEC, peak electron density height – hmF2), and the troposphere (temperature, relative humidity), before, during and after the total solar eclipse of 29 March 2006. 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