Collaborative Research: CEDAR--Experimental and Modeling Study of Mesoscale Ion-Neutral Coupling in the Auroral Thermosphere

利用三台法布里-珀罗干涉仪和AMISR非相干散射雷达研究了活跃和平静极光条件下极光热层中离子和中性粒子的耦合。 在AMISR覆盖范围内，热层中性风的三个分量（纬向、纬向和垂直）被孤立在一个大约50 - 75公里大小的中尺度单元中。 目标是量化极光热层焦耳加热的中尺度响应，并评估极光弧附近的离子中性耦合。 测量还提供了中性风的散度和涡度。 基于物理学的全球电离层-热层模式（GTIM）的应用与增强的空间分辨率和测量约束，以评估各种强迫函数的重要性，包括洛伦兹阻力，粒子沉淀能量沉积，焦耳加热。

The coupling of ions and neutrals in the auroral thermosphere, during both active and quite auroral conditions is studied using three Fabry-Perot interferometers and the AMISR incoherent scatter radar. Three components (zonal, meridional, and vertical) of the thermospheric neutral wind are isolated in a mesoscale cell approximately 50km - 75km in size, within the AMISR coverage pattern. The goal is to quantify the mesoscale response to joule heating in the auroral thermosphere, and to evaluate ion-neutral coupling in the vicinity of auroral arcs. The measurements also provide the divergence and vorticity of the neutral wind. The physics-based Global Ionosphere-Thermosphere Model (GTIM) is applied with enhanced spatial resolution and measurement constraint to evaluate the importance of various forcing functions, including Lorentz drag, particle precipitation energy deposition, and Joule heating.