CAREER: Understanding the Global MLT Thermal Structure and Dynamics from Lidar and Satellite Observations and GCM Simulations

这是一个职业奖，将为年轻科学家通过创造性和令人兴奋的研究、教育和综合活动发展成功的学术生涯奠定坚实的基础。工作计划的重点是推进激光雷达遥感的研究和教育，以及全球激光雷达数据在中高层大气科学中的应用。这项研究首次将全球激光雷达数据结合起来，通过使用卫星数据和计算机模拟，绘制出全球中间层和低层热层（MLT）热结构的图像。这些努力将大大提高我们对全球MLT热结构的理解，并将进一步加深我们对控制这些变化的中层大气动力学的认识。这项研究还将通过使用这些观测数据来检验和改进复杂的全球环流模式。由于该项目将确定温度季节性变化最小的MLT区域的海拔高度，因此对于建立可用于监测气候变化的温度基线非常重要。这个项目将大大提高我们对大气中最不了解的区域的认识，即赤道和中间大气的过渡区域。该项目还将大大增加在阿雷西博天文台（一个国家科学研究设施）和世界各地其他地点收集的激光雷达数据的使用。通过分析过去和现在的数据，将减少大量的数据积压，并获得科学的结果，以帮助指导未来的数据收集和仪器升级。该研究将作为一个桥梁，鼓励建模人员和实验人员之间的合作，以大幅增加激光雷达数据在测试和改进GCM模型中的使用。该项目为教育和培养研究生和本科生提供了良好的机会，并促进了大气科学与激光雷达工程的融合。通过课堂学习，学生将获得广泛的知识和经验，并将其应用于主动激光雷达研究。这个项目将帮助首席研究员成功地发展她的学术生涯。这些活动与PI的职业目标一致，即在科罗拉多大学建立一个强大的激光雷达和大气研究和教育小组，并为中高层大气社区开发一个卓越的激光雷达技术和应用中心。

This is a CAREER award that will set a solid foundation for a young scientist in developing a successful academic career through creative and exciting research, education, and integrated activities. The focus of the work plan is to advance research and education in lidar remote sensing and the applications of global lidar data to middle and upper atmospheric science. The research represents the first time that worldwide lidar data will be combined to create a global picture of the thermal structure of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) via the use of satellite data and computer simulations. These efforts will significantly advance our understanding of the global MLT thermal structure and will further our knowledge of middle atmosphere dynamics that govern these variations. This research will also test and improve sophisticated global circulation models through use of these observational data. Because this project will identify altitudes in the MLT region where the temperatures undergo minimum seasonal variations, it will be important for establishing a temperature baseline that can be used to monitor climate change. This project will significantly advance our knowledge of the least understood region of the atmosphere, which is the equatorial and transition region of the middle atmosphere. This project will also significantly increase the usage of the lidar data collected at Arecibo Observatory, a national facility for scientific research, and at other sites around the world. Through analyzing past and present data, the large data backlog will be reduced, and scientific results will be obtained to help guide future data collection and instrumentation upgrades. The study will act as a bridge to encourage collaborations between modelers and experimentalists to dramatically increase the use of lidar data in testing and improving GCM models. This project provides excellent opportunities to educate and train graduate and undergraduate students, and to advance the integration of atmospheric science with lidar engineering. Students will gain extensive knowledge and experience through classroom learning of lidar remote sensing and then applying them to active lidar research. This project will help the principal investigator to successfully develop her academic career. The activities align well with the PI's career goals of establishing a strong lidar and atmospheric research and education group at the University of Colorado, and developing a center of excellence for lidar technologies and applications for the middle and upper atmosphere community.