Collaborative Research: Characterizing Secondary Gravity Waves and Influences on Momentum Transport

该项目将开展主要旨在研究次级重力波（SGWs）的产生和影响的研究。主要目的是了解破碎重力波如何产生SGWs，然后评估SGWs对中间层和低层热层区域的后续影响。研究sgw的发展过程是必要的，因为这些波可能会将动量输送到比初级GW更高的高度。该项目的科学计划还将考虑这些sgw中的一些是否可以通过临界层传播。这些是不同大气层之间耦合过程的重要方面。大气区域之间的能量转移问题是一个潜在的变革性研究领域，并且是大气研究中的一个活跃话题，因为观测和模式最近已经可用。该项目将帮助支持两名早期职业研究人员，首席研究员（PI）是一名女性，从而改善空间物理界的性别多样性。虽然理论和模拟都证明了二次重力波的存在，但关于SGW的产生及其在中间层和低层热层（MLT）区域的动量通量和影响的观测、统计和综合模拟和观测研究却很少。研究旨在回答以下问题：1)平流层和中间层条件在重力波向MLT的演化和传播过程中，以及破裂条件的发展过程中，重力波是如何形成SGW的？2)重力波破裂和由此产生的二次重力波对MLT动量输运的影响是什么？3)北半球强地形重力波活动与MLT不同重力波谱的观测结果有何相关性？该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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 project would carry out research primarily aimed at the study of the production and effects of secondary gravity waves (SGWs). The main objective is to understand how breaking gravity waves produce SGWs and then to assess the subsequent effect of SGWs on the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region. Studying the process of developing SGWs is necessary because these waves would potentially transport momentum to higher altitudes than the primary GW. The science plan of this project would also consider whether some of these SGWs could propagate even through a critical layer. These are important aspects of the coupling processes between different atmospheric layers. This question of energy transfer between atmospheric regions is a potentially transformative area of research and is an active topic in atmospheric research now that observations and models have recently become available. This project would help support two early career researchers with the lead Principal Investigator (PI) being a woman thus improving the gender diversity within the space physics community.While theory and modeling demonstrate the presence of secondary gravity waves, there are few observational, statistical, and combined modeling and observational studies on SGW generation and associated momentum flux and influences within the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region. The research aims to answer the following questions: 1) How do stratospheric and mesospheric conditions play a role in the evolution and propagation of gravity waves into the MLT and the progression of breaking conditions leading to SGW generation? 2) What are the implications of gravity wave breaking and resulting secondary gravity waves on momentum transport in the MLT? 3) What is the correlation between strong orographic gravity wave activity observed in the Northern hemisphere and observations of different gravity wave spectra in the MLT?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.