Local-Scale Drivers and Responses of Thermospheric Weather above Antarctica

南极洲上空热层天气的局部驱动因素和响应

• 批准号: 2029459
• 负责人: Mark Conde
• 金额: $ 92.54万
• 依托单位: University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2029459&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Local; Scale; Drivers; Responses; Thermospheric

Observations of the Earth's upper atmosphere at the altitudes from above 100-km to a few hundred kilometers is subjected to highly variable forces as from the top (energy and momentum transferred down from the solar wind interaction with geomagnetic field) as well as from the bottom – from the lower atmosphere and mesosphere which generate gravity waves from the global atmospheric circulation driven mainly by the solar radiation. It is not easy to explore the upper atmosphere which lays below the satellite orbits, so only a remote technique instrumentation (such ground-based Fabry-Perot Spectrometers, FPS) is used for that kind of studies. Latitudes of interests here are polar regions, specifically Antarctica where two modern FPSs are deployed at McMurdo and South Pole stations. This award will focus on the behavior and governing physics of the transition from the neutral fluid-like dynamics in the lower atmosphere to the plasma electrodynamics in the ionosphere and geospace domain above it. This transitional domain is frequently called the Space-Atmosphere Interaction Region (SAIR). Knowledge of SAIR's properties and dynamics are important because they strongly impact many modern technological systems such as radio wave communication, navigation, and long-range radar applications. The primary goals of this research are identifying the role of waves and tides propagating upward from below and driving perturbation within the SAIR, and what is the role of forcing from above in driving high-latitudes thermospheric weather. The broader impact of this research is training the next generation of scientists through deep involvment of students and active support for diversity and inclusion.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.

在100公里以上至几百公里的高度对地球高层大气进行观测，会受到来自高层（太阳风与地磁场相互作用向下传递的能量和动量）以及来自底层（低层大气和中间层）的高度可变的力的影响，这些力主要由太阳辐射驱动的全球大气环流产生重力波。探测位于卫星轨道下方的高层大气并不容易，因此只能使用远程技术仪器（如地基法布里-珀罗光谱仪，FPS）进行此类研究。这里感兴趣的是极地地区，特别是南极洲，在那里两个现代化的FPS部署在麦克默多和南极站。该奖项将重点关注从低层大气中的中性流体类动力学到电离层及其上方地球空间域中的等离子体电动力学的过渡行为和控制物理。这个过渡域通常被称为空间-大气相互作用区域（SAIR）。了解SAIR的性质和动力学是很重要的，因为它们强烈影响许多现代技术系统，如无线电波通信，导航和远程雷达应用。这项研究的主要目标是确定从下面向上传播的波和潮汐的作用，并在SAIR内驱动扰动，以及从上面驱动高纬度热层天气的作用是什么。该研究的更广泛影响是通过学生的深度参与和对多样性和包容性的积极支持来培养下一代科学家。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。