CEDAR: The Role of Neutral Winds in the Day-to-day Variability of the Ionospheric Mid-Latitude Evening Anomalies

威德尔海异常（WSA）是南半球夏季中纬度至高纬度电离层的周期性特征。电子密度在夜间在威德尔海附近达到最大值，而不是在白天，这是由于太阳的光电离所造成的。这项工作的目的是了解这些夜间异常的原因，特别注意热层中性风和源自低层大气的波的作用。由于在这部分大气中不能直接感知到风，因此必须从其他可用的测量数据（如电子密度）中推断出风。这项研究的一个关键价值是产生和传播由观测驱动的全球尺度电离层风，这些电离层风是由PI最先进的模型计算出来的。WSA可以被认为是电离层/热层耦合建模能力的试验台。主要的研究工具是USU的热层风同化模型（TWAM），它将与电离层同化系统（GAIM）耦合。这两个系统从一套全面的地面和天基数据网络中摄取数据。它们将使研究风对异常区域内外电离层驱动因素的日常变化的响应成为可能。这一建议与最近的十年调查的目标非常一致，该调查要求热层建模和数据同化社区提供数据缺失地区的风。

The Weddell Sea Anomaly (WSA) is a recurrent feature of the Southern hemisphere summertime midlatitude to high-latitude ionosphere. Electron densities maximize around the Weddell Sea region during the night, rather than during the day as would be expected due to photoionization by the Sun. The objective of the work is to understand the causes of these evening anomalies, with particular attention to the roles of thermospheric neutral winds, and waves originating from the lower atmosphere. Because winds are not directly sensed in this part of the atmosphere, they must be inferred from other available measurements such as electron density. A key value of the research is the generation and dissemination of observation-driven global-scale ionospheric winds computed from the PI's state of the art model.The WSA can be thought of as testbed for coupled ionosphere/thermosphere modeling capabilities. The primary research tool is USU's Thermospheric Wind Assimilation Model (TWAM) that will be coupled to an ionospheric assimilation system (GAIM). These two systems ingest data from a comprehensive set of ground-based and space-based data networks. They will enable investigation of the wind response to day-to-day variations in ionospheric drivers inside and outside the anomaly regions. This proposal is very well-aligned with the goals of the most recent Decadal Survey, which charges the thermospheric modeling and data assimilation communities with providing winds in data-absent regions.