Investigation of the Ionospheric Dynamics and MI Coupling in Antarctica

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This proposal seeks funding to build the high-frequency scientific radar at the South Pole Station in Antarctica, thus enhancing research capabilities of the 22-radars SuperDARN network deployed around the world (http://superdarn.jhuapl.edu). The South Pole radar will fill a gap in the studies of auroral physics over the Antarctic, helping to establish complete coverage of the entire auroral oval in the Southern hemisphere and adding to the wealth of other Antarctic space physics instruments. This radar will be studying: (a) solar wind plasma entry into and exit from the Southern polar cap and motions of ionized plasma patches through the cap, (b) responses of the global ionospheric and magnetospheric convection to solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field changes, (c) magnetospheric responses to abrupt solar wind changes and geomagnetic storms and substorms, and (d) the plasma patches interactions with mesospheric winds and thermospheric gravity waves. In addition, by extending the global-scale coverage in the Southern hemisphere, questions about geomagnetic conjugacy of global magnetic storms and substorms and differences in the ionospheric plasma convection caused by the asymmetry of solar illumination in both hemispheres can be addressed. The SuperDARN network, with its ability to observe global-scale convection with excellent temporal and spatial resolution, has proven to be the most powerful tool available for the ground-based research, allowing scientists to address the most fundamental and important questions of space physics. The SuperDARN's international community contributed significantly to the education of many postdoctoral fellows, graduate, and undergraduate students, thus helping to grow a generation of young researchers in the field of space physics and aeronomy. The proposed project will also provide data relevant to important societal issues such as space weather studies and enhance the usefulness of data from other instruments.