Collaborative Studies of the Antarctic Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere

南极中层和低层热层的合作研究

• 批准号: 0538672
• 负责人: Scott Palo
• 金额: $ 140.32万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-09-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0538672&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Studies; Antarctic; Mesosphere; Lower

The mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), at an altitude between 80 and 120 km above the Earth's surface, is a highly dynamic region that couples the lower terrestrial atmosphere (troposphere and stratosphere) with the upper atmosphere near-Earth space environment (thermosphere and ionosphere). Of particular importance in this region are both the upward propagating thermally forced atmospheric tides and global scale planetary waves. Both of these phenomena transport heat and momentum from the lower atmosphere into the upper atmosphere. Studies in recent years have indicated that the Arctic and Antarctic MLT possess a rich spectrum waves and may be more sensitive to global change than the lower atmosphere. The primary goal of this research is to observe, quantify, model, and further understand the spatial-temporal structure and variability of the MLT circulation above Antarctica and its commonalities with the Arctic. A secondary goal is to quantify and understand the deposition of mass into the upper atmosphere through the ablation of meteors and the resulting effect on local and regional aeronomic processes. This includes the effect of meteor flux, temperature and dynamics on the seasonal distribution of sodium over the South Pole. Meteor radar was installed at the South Pole Amundsen-Scott station and has been running continuously since January 2002. A new sodium nightglow imager will be installed at the South Pole to infer the sodium abundance in the MLT. Observations from this instrument will be combined with the South Pole Fabry-Perot interferometer temperature measurements and the meteor radar wind and meteor flux measurements to improve our understanding of the sodium chemistry and dynamics. These observations will be interpreted using sophisticated numerical models and interpreted in conjunction with Arctic measurements along with current linear and nonlinear atmospheric models to advance the current understanding of processes important to the MLT region. This research also contributes to the training and education of the graduate and undergraduate students, a postdoc and early career tenure track faculty.

位于地球表面上方80至120公里高度的中间层和低热层(MLT)是一个高度动态的区域，它将低地大气(对流层和平流层)与高层大气近地空间环境(热层和电离层)连接起来。在这一区域特别重要的是向上传播的热力强迫大气潮汐和全球尺度的行星波。这两种现象都将热量和动量从低层大气输送到高层大气。近年来的研究表明，北极和南极MLT具有丰富的波谱，可能比低层大气对全球变化更敏感。这项研究的主要目标是观察、量化、模拟和进一步了解南极上空MLT环流的时空结构和变异性及其与北极的共同点。第二个目标是量化和了解通过流星消融而向高层大气中沉积的物质以及由此对当地和区域大气过程产生的影响。这包括流星流量、温度和动力学对南极上空钠的季节分布的影响。流星雷达安装在南极阿蒙森-斯科特站，自2002年1月以来一直持续运行。一台新的钠夜光成像仪将安装在南极，以推断MLT中的钠丰度。这台仪器的观测将与南极法布里-珀罗涉仪的温度测量以及流星雷达、风和流星流量的测量相结合，以提高我们对钠的化学和动力学的理解。这些观测将使用复杂的数值模式进行解释，并结合北极测量以及当前的线性和非线性大气模型进行解释，以促进目前对MLT区域重要过程的理解。本研究也有助于研究生、本科生、博士后和早期终身教职教师的培养和教育。