Collaborative Research: CEDAR: Multi-site Fabry-Perot Interferometer Measurements of Thermospheric Neutral Winds and Temperatures in Western South America

历史上曾使用空间和地面仪器对电离层-热层耦合系统中发生的复杂过程进行过研究，如法布里-珀罗干涉仪，这是一种能够测量250公里附近热层风的仪器。包括地磁赤道在内的一个特别重要的区域，在这些风方面基本上没有采样，这是南美洲西部（WSA）从35°S延伸到5°S的区域。这些风的速度和方向之间的关系和等离子体动力学在WSA引起的阿普尔顿喷泉效应的地磁赤道仍然在很大程度上未被探索。该奖项的目的是促进目前对西撒哈拉地区赤道热层和电离层动态的了解。部署一个大规模的FPI仪器链，与现有的全天成像系统相结合，将成为空间气象研究的一个重要和资源丰富的工具。 该项目将大大加强美国和国际研究人员之间的合作。 在教育和技术资源有限的FPI新址，教育推广活动将包括访问当地学校和让学生参与STEM主题。 本科生和研究生将参与该项目。该项目的第一个目标是利用三台已经运行的法布里-珀罗干涉仪（FPI）的同步数据，提高目前对横跨赤道电离异常（EIA）和磁赤道的西撒哈拉地区IT动态的理解。该项目的另一个目标是将FPI数据与全天空成像仪（ASI）数据相结合，以支持对影响IT系统动力学的午夜温度最大值和中尺度移动电离层扰动（MSTID）和赤道电离层-F的研究。 将在阿根廷的一个地点部署一个新的FPI仪器，以观测靠近EIA南部波峰的热层风和温度。 这一部署将创建一个均匀间隔约7 °的FPI链，将在2000公里的纬度范围内测量四个站点的风和温度参数。 该项目将提供长期的区域中性风和温度在西澳大利亚州，这将有助于了解低纬度地区的动态是如何受到影响的空间和时间可变的EIA的存在。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The complex processes occurring in the ionosphere-thermosphere (IT) coupled system have been historically studied using both space-borne and ground-based instrumentation such as the Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI), an instrument capable of measuring thermospheric winds near 250 km. A particularly important region including the geomagnetic equator that has remained largely unsampled with respect to these winds is the area of the Western South America (WSA) extending from 35°S to 5°S. The relationship between the speed and direction of these winds and the plasma dynamics within the WSA caused by the Appleton fountain effect over the geomagnetic equator has remained largely unexplored. The objective of this award is to advance the current understanding of the equatorial thermospheric and ionospheric dynamics within the WSA sector. The deployment of a large-scale meridional chain of FPI instruments combined with the existing all- sky imaging systems would serve as an important and resourceful tool for space weather research. The project will significantly enhance the collaboration between US and international researchers. At the new FPI site, where limited educational and technological resources exist, educational outreach activities will include visiting local schools and engaging students in STEM topics. Undergraduate and graduate students will be involved in this project.The first objective of this project is to improve the current understanding of the IT dynamics in the WSA region extending across the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) and the magnetic equator using simultaneous data from three Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPI) already in operation. The other objective of this project is to combine the FPI data with the all-sky imagers (ASIs) data to support studies of the Midnight Temperature Maximum and Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (MSTIDs) and Equatorial Spread-F that affect the dynamics of the IT system. A new FPI instrument will be deployed to a site in Argentina to observe thermospheric winds and temperatures close to the southern EIA crest. This deployment will create a chain of FPIs evenly separated by ~ 7o that would measure wind and temperature parameters in a 2000 km latitude span with four sites. The project will provide long-term regional neutral winds and temperatures in WSA that will help understand how the dynamics of the low latitude region are affected by the presence of a spatially and temporally variable EIA.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.