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

在电离层-热层（IT）耦合系统中发生的复杂过程，历史上一直使用空间载和地面仪器进行研究，例如法布里-珀罗干涉仪（FPI），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很大程度上没有对这些风进行采样，那就是从南纬35°到南纬5°的南美西部地区。这些风的速度和方向与WSA内由地磁赤道上的阿普尔顿喷泉效应引起的等离子体动力学之间的关系在很大程度上仍未被探索。该奖项的目的是促进WSA部门对赤道热层和电离层动力学的当前理解。大规模经向FPI仪器链的部署与现有的全天成像系统相结合，将成为空间天气研究的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。在新的FPI站点，教育和技术资源有限，教育外展活动将包括访问当地学校和让学生参与STEM主题。本科生和研究生都将参与这个项目。该项目的第一个目标是利用已经运行的三个Fabry-Perot干涉仪（FPI）的同步数据，提高对横跨赤道电离异常（EIA）和磁赤道的WSA区域IT动力学的当前理解。该项目的另一个目标是将FPI数据与全天成像仪（ASIs）数据结合起来，以支持影响IT系统动力学的午夜最高温度和中尺度移动电离层扰动（MSTIDs）和赤道扩散f的研究。一台新的FPI仪器将被部署到阿根廷的一个地点，以观测热层风和靠近南部EIA峰值的温度。这一部署将创建一个fpi链，平均间隔约70°，可以在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WSA的长期区域中性风和温度，这将有助于了解低纬度地区的动态如何受到空间和时间变化的环境影响评估的影响。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。

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.