Airglow and Auroral Studies of the Earth's Upper Atmosphere

建议在匹兹堡大学、秘鲁阿雷基波亚的赤道气辉观测站和马萨诸塞州的中纬度米尔斯通山观测站进行高层大气动力学研究。将使用升级的法布里-珀罗涉仪(FPI)测量夜辉发射线的多普勒频移和宽度，以得出速度和温度。FPI既有传统的设计，也有全天候的设计，使用了CCD探测器来提供极大的提高灵敏度。多普勒频移的准确测定将由零速参考源提供，或者使用PI新开发的氧余辉参考源(OI 630.0和557.7 nm谱线)，或者由更便携的二级标准源提供，后者将进行干涉测量校准，以对照桨标准进行校准。对于秘鲁的赤道测量，FP I的新的多波长能力将扩大正在进行的630 nm高层热层动力学研究，包括通过OH(731.6 nm)夜辉线研究中层顶风和温度。位于米尔斯通山的全天热像仪将被用来检查中纬度低热层和高热层之间的耦合效应，方法是利用557.7纳米和630.0纳米的气辉发射连续测定它们的风场和温度场。在两个纬度，中性动力学结果可以与Jicamara或Millstone Hill非相干散射雷达获得的电离层动力学测量结果进行比较。

A program of upper atmosphere dynamics studies is proposed that involves work at the University of Pittsburgh, at the equatorial Airglow Observatory in Arequipoa, Peru, and at the midlatitude Millstone Hill Observatory in Massachusetts. Determinations of Doppler shifts and widths of nightglow emission lines will be made by upgraded Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) instruments to yield velocities and temperatures. The FPIs are of both conventional and all-sky designs that make use of CCD detectors to provide greatly improved sensitivity. Accurate determinations of the Doppler shifts will be provided by zero velocity reference sources, either using the PIs newly developed oxygen afterglow reference source (OARS) that emits the forbidden OI 630.0 and 557.7 nm lines or by more portable Secondary Standard sources that will be interferometrically calibrated against the OARS standard. The improved precision will permit accurate determinations of the (small) vertical velocities, supplementing the usual horizontal velocity determinations to provide a 3-dimensional characterization of the thermospheric flow.For the equatorial measurements in Peru, the new, multi-wavelength capability of the FPI will broaden the ongoing 630 nm studies of upper thermosphere dynamics to include mesopause wind and temperature determinations via OH (731.6 nm) nightglow line studies. The all-sky FPI at Millstone Hill will be used to examine coupling effects between the midlatitude lower and upper thermosphere by sequential determinations of their wind and temperature fields using the 557.7 nm and 630.0 nm airglow emissions. At both latitudes, the neutral dynamics results can be compared to the ionospheric dynamics measurements obtained by either the Jicamarca or the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar.