CAREER: Revealing the Connection between Pulsating Aurora and the Dynamics of the Inner Magnetosphere

职业：揭示脉动极光与内磁层动力学之间的联系

• 批准号: 2045016
• 负责人: Allison Jaynes
• 金额: $ 68.19万
• 依托单位: University of Iowa
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-02-01 至 2026-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2045016&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Revealing; Connection; between; Pulsating

Pulsating aurora occur in large patches across the sky, turning their lit-up patterns on and off. This distinct type of aurora is produced through wave-particle scattering in the equatorial magnetosphere. There are many questions remaining about how this process occurs and how it is related to substorm activity, which the project will address. The project will support research for an early career female PI and outreach programs targeted at retaining women and under-represented minorities in STEM fields, primarily through a Space Physics & Astronomy Research Kamp (SPARK) for local high school students and through a peer mentorship and recruitment program called Prairie States Partnership in Physics. The project aims to address three open questions related to pulsating aurorae: (1) What is the basic process that causes the pulsations?; (2) How does the pulsating aurora process tie into substorm activity and radiation belt/ring current dynamics?; and (3) What is the spatial extent of pulsating aurora events and what conditions affect that extent? These questions will be addressed through a creative use of machine learning, ground-based imager observations, and spacecraft data during conjunction times. The successful closure of these questions will represent a leap forward in our understanding of pulsating aurora and magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling.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.

脉动的极光出现在天空中的大片区域，打开和关闭它们的发光模式。这种独特的极光类型是通过赤道磁层中的波粒散射产生的。关于这个过程是如何发生的，以及它与亚暴活动的关系，还有许多问题有待解决。该项目将支持研究早期职业女性PI和外展计划，旨在留住STEM领域的女性和代表性不足的少数民族，主要通过为当地高中生提供空间物理天文学研究坎普（SPARK），并通过名为草原州物理学伙伴关系的同行指导和招聘计划。该项目旨在解决与脉动极光有关的三个悬而未决的问题：（1）引起脉动的基本过程是什么？(2)脉动极光过程如何与亚暴活动和辐射带/环电流动力学联系起来？（3）脉动极光事件的空间范围是什么，什么条件影响这种范围？这些问题将通过创造性地使用机器学习、地面成像仪观测和会合期间的航天器数据来解决。这些问题的成功解决将代表着我们对脉动极光和磁层-电离层耦合的理解向前迈进了一大步。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。

项目成果

Substorm activity as a driver of energetic pulsating aurora

亚暴活动是能量脉动极光的驱动力

• DOI: 10.3389/fspas.2022.1032552
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
• 影响因子: 3
• 作者: Troyer, Riley N.;Jaynes, Allison N.;Kaeppler, Stephen R.;Varney, Roger H.;Reimer, Ashton S.;Jones, Sarah L.
• 通讯作者: Jones, Sarah L.