Global Joule Heating

本研究的目的是加强对电离层电导率和焦耳加热的全球形态的理解，并更好地定义它们在热层和电离层能量学中的作用。由于在局部和全局尺度上测量所有相关的电动力学和中性参数（如电场、电导率、中性风）的困难，焦耳加热的形态目前还没有得到很好的理解。焦耳加热的准确知识很重要，因为它贡献了全球热层能量收支的10%，是决定全球温度、风、成分和f区电子密度的纬度梯度的主要因素。作者将利用热层电离层电动力学环流模型（TIEGCM）和电离层电动力学同化映射（AMIE）技术研究全球电导率和焦耳加热的时空形态及其影响。焦耳加热的详细研究是一个难题，涉及复杂的建模技术和多数据集的分析，这超出了单个研究者的范围。提议的工作需要团队方法，提议团队由各自领域的知名专家组成。所提出的研究对于详细了解热层-电离层-磁层耦合至关重要。这项研究与许多国家计划直接相关，如雪松，空间天气倡议和NASA/TIMED任务。高中学生将通过SwRI的指导计划参与这项工作。

The goal of this investigation is to enhance an understanding of the global morphology of ionospheric conductivity and Joule heating and to better define their role in the energetics of the thermosphere and ionosphere. The morphology of Joule heating is not well understood at this time because of the difficulty of measuring all the relevant electrodynamic and neutral parameters (e.g. electric fields, conductivities, neutral winds) on both the local and global scales. An accurate knowledge of Joule heating is important because it contributes 10% of the global thermospheric energy budget, and is a major factor in determining the global latitudinal gradients of temperature, wind, composition and hence the F-region electron density. The proposers will use the Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamic General Circulation Model (TIEGCM) and the Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics (AMIE) technique to investigate the temporal and spatial morphology of the global conductivity and Joule heating, and its effects. The detailed study of Joule heating is a difficult problem, involving complex modeling techniques and the analysis of multiple data sets, which is beyond the scope of a single investigator. The proposed work requires a team approach, and the proposal team consists of well known experts in their field. The proposed research is vitally important for a detailed understanding of the thermosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling. This study is directly relevant to a variety of National programs such as CEDAR, the Space Weather Initiative and the NASA/TIMED mission. High school students will be involved in the work through a mentoring program at SwRI.