Collaborative Research: Gravity Wave-Airglow Interactions in Multiple Emission Layers

地球中高层大气中性密度扰动被称为重力波（GW），被认为是中间层和低热层大气区域物理和化学过程的重要驱动力。全球Ws影响潮汐和行星波动力学以及大气环流和许多大气层的传输过程。本计画的目的是研究大气层中大气分子与大气巨光的相互作用。大气巨光是大气层中的原子与分子在夜间发出的微弱光辐射。通过这一点，更好地了解GWs对MLT地区化学物种的影响。该项目将利用智利安第斯山脉激光雷达观测站附近的一系列气辉成像仪对多个气辉层进行观测，该观测站是一个著名的GW“热点”。这将由同地激光雷达和流星雷达、卫星的观测以及随时间变化的非线性大气模型的结果加以补充。该项目将通过支持一名研究生和一名本科生来促进教育，并通过支持包括代表性不足群体成员在内的团队来扩大参与，工作将涉及根据成像气辉数据描述ALO附近GW活动的特征，并将GW-气辉相互作用的模拟结果与成像观测结果进行比较。最近的建模结果，使用二维，非线性，随时间变化的OH化学动力学（OHCD）模型和多气辉化学动力学（MACD）模型表明，一个瞬态耗散GW包可以引起显着变化的浓度的次要物种，气辉强度，并在experimental加热。这些变化似乎是非周期性的，但往往被误认为是长周期波。这些是长期的变化，这是一个净周期平均运输的化学活性的次要物种的结果。该项目将通过使用GW传播模型以及气辉化学模型、OHCD和MACD，结合光学、激光雷达，该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并被认为值得通过利用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响进行评估来支持审查标准。

Perturbations in the neutral density in the Earth's middle and upper atmosphere known as gravity waves (GWs) are thought to be an important driver of physical and chemical processes in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) atmospheric region. GWs influence tidal and planetary wave dynamics as well as general circulation and transport processes across many atmospheric layers. The goal of this project is to investigate the interaction of GWs and airglow, faint optical emission emitted by atoms and molecules in MLT during the night. Through this, a better understanding of the impact of GWs on chemical species in the MLT region will be achieved. This project will conduct observations in multiple airglow layers with a chain of airglow imagers near the Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO) in Chile, a well-known GW "hotspot". This will be complemented by observations with the collocated lidar and meteor radar, satellites, and results from time-dependent, nonlinear atmospheric models. This project will promote education by supporting a graduate student and an undergraduate student and contribute to broadening participation by supporting the team that includes members from underrepresented groups.The work will involve characterization of GW activity near ALO based on the imaging airglow data and comparison of simulation results of GW-airglow interactions with imaging observations. Recent modeling results using a 2D, nonlinear, time-dependent OH Chemistry-Dynamics (OHCD) model and a Multiple-Airglow Chemistry-Dynamics (MACD) models have shown that a transient dissipating GW packet can induce significant variations in the concentrations of the minor species, in the airglow intensity, and in exothermal heating. The variations appear to be aperiodic but are often mistaken for long-period waves. These are secular variations which are a result of a net cycle-averaged transport of chemically-active minor species. The project will simulate secular variations in airglow causes by GWs by using a model of GW propagation together with airglow chemistry models, OHCD and MACD, in conjunction with optical, lidar, and meteor radar observations at ALO complemented by spacecraft data from SABER and SCIAMACHY.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.