Collaborative Research: Comprehensive Investigation of Midlatitude Ionospheric Irregularities

该项目将解决有关中纬度电离层作为一个系统的行为方式的基础科学问题。尽管缺乏明显的自由能来源，但中纬度电离层与赤道电离层和极光电离层一样容易发生不稳定，而且没有全面的理论来解释这一点。中性风、风切变和湍流与ES层的形成和结构之间存在明显的关系，但因果联系尚未清楚地阐明。同样清楚的是，E区不规则性和F区中尺度行进电离层扰动(MSTID)和不规则性是电耦合的，但区域(源、负载、耦合谐振器)的作用仍未指明。这个项目将研究中纬度零星的E层，MSTID，相关的等离子体密度不规则性，它们的相互耦合，它们的地磁共轭，以及与热层中性运动的耦合。研究将从实验、理论和模型三个方面进行。这项研究的实验部分将在加勒比地区进行，并将以阿雷西博非相干散射雷达为中心。该雷达将由部署的相干散射雷达成像器支持，以便与阿雷西博具有共同的E区和F区散射体。该项目还将利用阿雷西博激光雷达和全天成像仪以及探测仪和全球定位系统总电子含量(TEC)数据。理论研究将集中在将使用多尺度分析研究的中间层/低热层(MLT)区域中性运动的湍流特性，以及对电离层结构的影响。建模工作将纳入新开发的全三维等离子体动力学模型。本科生和研究生将参与这项工作，并将在加勒比地区开展公共外联活动。

This project will address fundamental science questions on how the midlatitude ionosphere behaves as a system. The midlatitude ionosphere is as prone to instability as the equatorial and auroral ionospheres despite the lack of obvious sources of free energy, and there is no comprehensive theory to explain this. There is a clear relationship between neutral winds, wind shear, and turbulence and Es layer formation and structuring, but the causal links have yet to be clearly articulated. Equally clear is that E region irregularities and F region medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) and irregularities are electrically coupled, but the roles of the regions (sources, loads, coupled resonators) remain unspecified. This project will investigate midlatitude sporadic E layers, MSTIDs, the associated plasma density irregularities, their mutual coupling, their geomagnetic conjugacy, and coupling to the thermospheric neutral motion. The investigation will have experimental, theoretical, and modeling aspects. The experimental component of the research will be conducted in the Caribbean and will center on the Arecibo incoherent scatter radar. This radar will be supported by a coherent scatter radar imager fielded so as to have common E- and F-region scattering volumes with Arecibo. The project will also utilize the Arecibo lidars and all-sky imagers as well as sounders and GPS Total Electron Content (TEC) data. The theoretical investigation will focus on the turbulence properties of the neutral motions in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT) region, which will be studied using a multi-scale analysis, and on the consequences for ionospheric structuring. Modeling work will incorporate a newly developed, fully three-dimensional plasma dynamics model. Undergraduate and graduate students will participate in this work, and public outreach activities will be carried out in the Caribbean.