Lower Thermospheric Science using New Meteor Radars at McMurdo and WAIS Divide

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The Arctic and Antarctic are unique for the upper atmospheric research as these polar regions affect significantly the dynamics of planetary atmospheric circulations. Like the oceans, Earth's atmosphere experiences planet-wide gravitational tides caused by the Moon. In addition to planetary atmospheric waves of various scale caused by Earth's rotation, the largest amplitude of upward-propagating, thermally forced atmospheric tides are generated by the periodic heating of the atmosphere by the Sun ? the atmosphere is heated during the day and not heated at night. All of these phenomena transport heat and momentum from the lower atmosphere into the upper atmosphere. Understanding the coupling of these waves between both the Northern and Southern hemispheres and from the lower atmosphere to the ionosphere and upper atmosphere will lead to the key processes responsible for transporting energy throughout the entire atmosphere-ionosphere system.This award will let scientists investigate the spatial-temporal structure and variability of the Antarctic mesosphere and lower thermosphere circulation at high latitudes. For this goal, a state-of-the-art meteor radar system will be installed at McMurdo Station, which then will provide hourly mean velocities of the zonal and meridional neutral winds between 80 and 100 km altitude operating continuously 24/7 through the year. Two existing models, the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) and the Global-Scale Wave Model (GSWM), will be employed to analyze radar observations in the global context. The collected data will be published almost instantaneously at a project website and provided to the NSF-supported CEDAR/Madrigal database and the Antarctic Master Directory. The project supports and trains one graduate and one undergraduate students; a young professional research assistant will also be involved in this effort. To broaden participation of underrepresented groups, students from the University of Colorado Summer Multicultural Access to Research and Training program will be engaged to locate qualified students to participate on this project.