Solar Wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling Using Incoherent Scatter, Magnetometer, and Other Coordinated Data

研究人员将研究太阳风、地球磁层和电离层之间的电动力学耦合。最初的重点将是比较磁强计和非相干散射雷达数据，以研究尖端/裂隙动力学行为对太阳风和行星际磁场变化的响应。基本问题的中心是确定发生在磁层顶并与太阳风-磁层相互作用有关的现象的电离层特征。以后的研究将重点放在磁强计和雷达数据与卫星图像的比较上。最后，研究人员将通过密歇根大学开发的三维自适应网格MHD模型和经验电离层电动力学模型对电离层现象进行广泛的建模。前一种模式具有在非常不同的空间尺度上分辨特征的能力，使得电离层预测有意义，因此适合于与测量结果进行比较和对其他电离层电动力学参数进行数值模拟。

The investigators will study the electrodynamic coupling between the solar wind, the Earth's magnetosphere, and the ionosphere. Initial focus will be on comparison of the magnetometer and incoherent scatter radar data for studying cusp/cleft dynamics behavior in response to variations in the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field. Fundamental questions center around the identification of ionospheric signatures of phenomena which occur at the magnetopause and which relate to solar wind- magnetosphere interactions. Later studies will focus on the magnetometer and radar data comparison with satellite images. Finally, the investigators will undertake extensive modeling of ionospheric phenomena through the 3-D adaptive grid MHD model and empirical ionospheric electrodynamic model developed at the University of Michigan. The former model has the ability to resolve features over vastly different spatial scales making the ionospheric predictions meaningful and, therefore, appropriate for comparisons with measurements and numerical modeling of other iuonospheric electrodynamic parameters.