Two years of observational data from the 532 nm Rayleigh lidar were used to study the vertical profile characteristics of atmospheric gravity wave potential energy density (GWPED) between 40–80 km above Jiuquan (40° N, 95° E) for the first time. The atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) characteristics are presented in terms of the atmospheric relative temperature perturbation, along with the estimated annual and seasonal GWPED with high spatial and temporal resolution (0.5 km and 1 h). The annual potential energy mass density ${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{pm}}$ and volume density ${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{pv}}$ vertical profiles show that the GWPED in the upper mesosphere is close to the adiabatic growth rate. The seasonal vertical profiles result shows that ${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{pm}}$ is higher in autumn–winter than in spring–summer in all the observed altitudes. The GWPED approaches adiabatic growth above 61 and 65 km in spring–summer and autumn–winter, respectively. The AGWs severely dissipate below the turning altitudes and transfer energy into the background atmosphere. The GWPED scale heights show that the AGWs dissipation rate of spring–summer is close to that of autumn–winter. Furthermore, based on the wind data from SD–WACCM, the influence of critical level filtering on AGWs is discussed. It plays an important role in affecting the seasonal variation in GWPED.

Rayleigh lidar data in 2013–2015 is used to describe the characteristics of gravity wave potential energy density in the mesosphere above Golmud (36.25° N, 94.54° E) of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, the vertical profiles of the atmospheric gravity wave potential energy density between 50–80 km above the region are presented, including the potential energy mass density ${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{pm}}$ and the potential energy volume density ${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{pv}}$. It shows the mathematical characteristics of the atmospheric gravity wave potential energy density vertical distribution, which also indicate the gravity waves are obviously dissipated in the lower mesosphere and close to conservative growth in the upper mesosphere (the turning point is around 61 km). A total of 1174 h of data covers seasonal changes, which reveals the seasonal characteristics of the potential energy density. The ${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{pm}}$ increases faster with altitude in summer than others. All seasons of the potential energy density profiles show that gravity waves are dissipated in the lower mesosphere, among which spring and winter are the most severe and summer is weakest. The ${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{pm}}$ is higher in spring and winter below 55 km. Above 55 km, it is the maximum in winter, followed by summer. Then, the AGWs activities between the location with mid–latitudes and different longitudes are compared and discussed.