CEDAR: Investigating E Region Auroral Irregularities with Coherent and Incoherent Scatter Radar and Optics

该项目的目的是调查100公里附近极光电离层（E区）等离子体扰动的小尺度结构和时间演变。 这项工作将利用理论和实验数据分析，以确定等离子体不规则性和背景电离层状态之间的关系，并研究它们在诊断区域等离子体对流模式中的小尺度和短暂特征方面的效用。 E-区域不规则性的测量将从相干散射雷达成像仪获得，该成像仪将被重新安置在阿拉斯加的扑克牌平地非相干散射雷达（PFISR）附近，用于对E-区域电离层中的电场、温度、密度和中性风进行一致的共同体积估计。 这些状态参数的定量分析结合理论建模将针对极光区波加热，不规则方面的敏感性，首选的不规则高度，Farley-Buneman波相速度饱和度，极光对流，中性风的影响，热不稳定性，以及无线电极光和离散光学极光形式之间的关系，同时与白光图像的比较。 该项目将支持即将到来的由国家科学基金会支持的立方体卫星使命，以及本科生和研究生的教育和培训，在观测和理论的高层大气物理学。

This project is to investigate the small scale structure and temporal evolution of plasma perturbations in the auroral ionosphere near 100 km (the E-region). This effort will utilize both theory and experimental data analysis in order to characterize the relationship between the plasma irregularities and the background ionospheric state as well as investigate their utility for diagnosing small-scale and short-lived features in the regional plasma convection pattern. Measurements of E-region irregularities will be acquired from a coherent scatter radar imager, which will be relocated near the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR) in Alaska for coincident, common-volume estimates of electric fields, temperatures, densities, and neutral winds in the E-region ionosphere. Quantitative analysis of these state parameters in conjunction with theoretical modeling will target investigations on auroral-zone wave heating, irregularity aspect sensitivity, preferred irregularity altitude, Farley-Buneman wave phase speed saturation, auroral convection, neutral wind effects, thermal instabilities, and the relationship between the radio aurora and discrete optical auroral forms based on comparisons with simultaneous white-light imagery. This project will support an upcoming NSF-supported CubeSat mission as well as undergraduate and graduate student education and training in observational and theoretical aeronomy.