Atmospheric Gravity Wave Radiosonde Field Campaign for Eclipse 2020

这个为期2年的项目支持在2020年12月14日南美洲的2020年日全食期间使用气球载无线电探空仪观测和分析日食驱动的平流层重力波（SGW）。 收集高时间分辨率的高层大气数据将使项目小组能够继续调查日食引起的SGW。 2020年活动的主要目标是确定平流层中由日食驱动的大气重力波。 该项目将使本科生在2020年夏天沉浸在研究中，参加12月为期两周的实地活动，并在实地活动后对无线电探空仪数据进行分析。 以前的本科生帮助设计项目，并确定最佳的空间和时间分辨率气球载无线电探空仪数据收集。 在南美洲为期两周的活动之前，将在夏季进行密集的学生培训。 本科研究的最后几周将专注于使用小波和速端图方法进行数据分析。 更广泛的影响还将来自学生在项目的所有阶段与该领域专家的互动：从规划到实地工作到最终数据分析。 这种指导扩大了研究能力，同时通过为所涉及的本科生提供宝贵的从提案到出版的经验，为专业和劳动力发展开辟了道路。 此外，蒙大拿大学的更广泛的影响组（BIG）将提供一些项目的公共传播工作的指导，在这个为期2年的项目期间，无线电探空仪数据的收集将使项目小组能够调查的物理过程，日食引起的SGW。 无线电探空仪数据有助于填补与重力波有关的观测空白，重力波是动量和能量转移到大气平均流的一种已知机制。 SGW的检测概率提高了时间分辨率之前，除了增加空间分辨率使用四个不同的发射场日食。 类似于蒙大拿太空资助联盟（MTSGC）的2019年日食活动，总共将发射25个气球，从全食前24小时开始。 2020年日食活动的设计是在不同的高度有两个气球，其中至少有一个气球在25-35公里范围内，每小时从全食前12小时开始。 气球发射时间表的战略设计是为了最大限度地提高每小时时间分辨率的结构，日食前一天的航班减少，日食当天和日食后的航班增加（相对于2019年）。 日食期间的飞行频率增加到每30分钟一次。 除了高时间分辨率观测外，2020年日食活动还将扩大项目团队的空间测量。 2020年日食活动将不会将测量限制在日食路径上的沿着一个点，而是将测量范围扩大到四个地点，从而跨越从智利西海岸到阿根廷东海岸的日食大陆路径。 这四个地点中的每一个都将采用MTSGC开发的图形用户界面，以确定背景大气的特征，并使用两种不同的方法探测大气重力波。 该项目的研究和EPO议程支持AGS部门在发现、学习、多样性和跨学科研究方面的战略目标。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This 2-year project supports an effort to observe and analyze eclipse-driven Stratospheric Gravity Waves (SGWs) using balloon-borne radiosondes during the 2020 total solar eclipse in South America on December 14, 2020. The gathering of upper atmospheric data with high temporal resolution will allow the project team to continue its investigations of SGWs induced by solar eclipses. The main objective of the 2020 campaign is to identify eclipse-driven atmospheric gravity waves in the stratosphere. The project will enable undergraduate students to become immersed in research over the summer of 2020, participate in a two-week field campaign in December, and perform analysis of the radiosonde data following the field campaign. Previous undergraduate students have helped design the project and determine the optimal spatial and temporal resolution for balloon-borne radiosonde data collection. An intensive student training will occur during the summer before the two-week-long event in South America. The final weeks of the undergraduate research will focus on data analysis using wavelet and hodograph methods. Broader impacts will also result from the students' interactions with experts in the field during all the phases of the project: from planning to field work to final data analysis. Such mentoring expands research capabilities, while opening pathways for professional and workforce development by facilitating an invaluable proposal-to-publication experience for the undergraduates involved. Additionally, the University of Montana's Broader Impacts Group (BIG) will provide guidance on some of the project's public dissemination efforts.The collection of radiosonde data during this 2-year project would enable the project team to investigate the physical processes governing the eclipse-induced SGWs. The radiosonde data serve to fill in the observational gap pertaining to gravity waves, which are a known mechanism of momentum and energy transfer to atmospheric mean flow. The detection probability of SGWs is enhanced with increased temporal resolution prior to the solar eclipse in addition to increased spatial resolution using four different launch sites. Similar to the Montana Space Grant Consortium's (MTSGC) 2019 solar eclipse campaign, a total of 25 balloons will be launched, beginning 24 hours before the totality. The 2020 solar eclipse campaign is designed to have two balloons at various altitudes with at least one of the two balloons in the 25-35 km range every hour starting 12 hours prior to the totality. The balloon launch schedule has been strategically designed to maximize the structure of hourly temporal resolution, with fewer flights the day before the eclipse and increased flights the day of and directly after the eclipse (relative to 2019). The flight frequency during the solar eclipse is increased to every 30 minutes. In addition to high temporal resolution observations, the 2020 solar eclipse campaign will expand the project team's measurements spatially as well. Rather than limit measurements to a single point along the eclipse path, the 2020 solar eclipse campaign will expand the measurements to four sites, thus spanning the continental path of the eclipse from the west coast of Chile to the east coast of Argentina. Each of the four sites will implement the graphical user interface developed by MTSGC to characterize the background atmosphere and detect atmospheric gravity waves using two separate methods. The research and EPO agenda of this project supports the Strategic Goals of the AGS Division in discovery, learning, diversity, and interdisciplinary research.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.