Atmospheric Dynamics at Austral High Latitudes

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。该提案寻求资金，以继续研究平流层和大气层上层区域，如中间层和热层之间的动力耦合。南极和麦克默尔多的冬季中层动温长期观测清楚地表明，通过与极地平流层云高度的平流层春季最高温度和高度的最高平流层春季温度的强相关，南半球存在这种动力耦合。后一种温度确定了空气足够冷，可以形成冰晶的区域。冰晶是臭氧破坏过程中的催化剂，因此可以控制臭氧空洞的面积。这些结果表明，导致平流层变暖或变冷的动力过程在南半球冬季已经存在，早期的中间层信号可能导致估计春季臭氧空洞的面积。为了更好地理解潜在的物理过程，需要对这些现象进行进一步的观察。南极洲的长期中间层测量为了解大气动态及其对全球气候变化的影响提供了一扇知识之窗。对学生的持续依赖为这项拟议的研究提供了更广泛的影响，并使这一努力在其教育使命中站稳了脚跟。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The proposal seeks funding to continue investigations of the dynamical coupling between the stratosphere and the upper regions of the atmosphere, such as the mesosphere and thermosphere. The long-term wintertime mesospheric kinetic temperature observations at South Pole and McMurdo have shown clearly the presence of this dynamical coupling in the Southern Hemisphere through a strong correlation with the maximum stratospheric springtime temperatures at the altitudes of polar stratospheric clouds and. The latter temperatures identify the area where air is sufficiently cold for ice crystals to form. The ice crystals are catalysts in the ozone destruction process and therefore may control the ozone hole area. These results indicate that the dynamical processes leading to the stratospheric warming or cooling are already in place during the austral winter and the early mesospheric signals lead to the potential capability to estimate the springtime ozone hole area. Further observations on these phenomena are needed to better understand the underlying physical processes. The long-term mesospheric measurements in Antarctica provide a window of knowledge into the dynamics of the atmosphere and their effects on global climate changes. Continued reliance on students provides a broader impact of this proposed research and firmly grounds this effort in its educational mission.