Collaborative Research: Studies of ULF Waves Associated with Solar Wind Coupling to the Magnetosphere and Ionosphere.

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Title: Collaborative Research: Studies of ULF waves associated with solar wind coupling to the magnetosphere and ionospherePLR-1341677 PI: Marc Lessard, University of New Hampshire (Lead)PLR-1341493 PI: Mark Engebretson, Augsburg College (Non-Lead)Since the beginning of the space age, increasingly sophisticated efforts have been made to explore and understand Earth?s space environment. Because those parts of Earth?s magnetic field that reach farthest out into space intersect the ground at high latitudes, arrays of ground magnetometers and auroral imagers at these polar regions have long been a valued means of monitoring processes in remote parts of Earth's magnetosphere. This award is to continue to operate and analyze data from six ground-based induction (search coil) magnetometers located in Antarctica (U.S. stations at South Pole and McMurdo, and the British Halley and Rothera stations), and two in the Arctic (Sondrestromfjord, Greenland, and Iqaluit, Canada). This research includes also the comparative analysis of search coil data from the array of automatic geophysical observatories (AGOs), a widely spaced array at Southern Polar Cap latitudes ranging from the auroral zone to near the geomagnetic pole.The stations in this project are key links in arrays of ground-based ionospheric and magnetospheric observatories in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions. With data from other instruments located at these sites and utilizing data from Antarctic arrays of automated instruments and from both low-altitude and high-altitude NASA spacecraft, these instruments play a significant role in a variety of studies of geospace phenomena including the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction and geomagnetic storms and substorms. Taken together, these instruments make it possible to study the entire range of Ultra Low Frequency (ULF) variations, from Pc1 and Pi1 pulsations down to Pc5 pulsations, magnetic impulse events, sudden electromagnetic impulses, and substorm disturbances with high sensitivity. Studies of these waves in conjunction with other instruments and spacecraft observations greatly enhance the scientific potential of the wave observations to provide new physical insights into Geospace dynamics.Solid science, collaborative effort, international partners, and travel to Antarctica provide an ideal opportunity to achieve education and outreach goals. Operation of the search coil magnetometers at the U.S. Antarctic stations provides excellent opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students at the University of New Hampshire and Augsburg College in Minnesota to make meaningful contributions to cutting-edge science.Search coils data are broadly employed by other research groups, with applications in studying solar-terrestrial relationships, magnetospheric physics, and space weather. These instruments are critical for the study of Earth's space environment, which has become increasingly important to our technologically advanced society. Improving the capability to forecast and characterize major space weather events has direct societal benefit.