Collaborative Research: CEDAR: Identifying Sources of Mid-latitude Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances

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Gravity waves (GWs) originating from lower atmospheric sources can lead to large accelerations of the background flow through wave dissipation or breaking. The accelerations produce secondary GWs with longer wavelengths, allowing them to propagate farther upward into the ionosphere. Here, through interaction with the ionospheric plasma, they are visible in the form of optical signatures in red line (630 nm) images, and are often referred to as traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs). A broad array of optical imagers will be used to triangulate the lower atmospheric sources for F region GWs, quantifying the GWs by numerically modeling the same optical signatures, and then using this quantification to ray-trace the secondary GWs to reveal their altitude profile of momentum deposition. This effort will connect two critical points on the coupled path: from the lower atmospheric source to momentum deposition in the mid to upper thermosphere. This project will include outreach to students at rural high schools where the instruments will be deployed. It will also provide undergraduate students opportunities to participate in data analysis and interpretation.