SHINE: Understanding the Impact of Solar Energetic Particles and Forbush Decreases on the Global Electric Circuit

SHINE：了解太阳能高能粒子和福布什减少对全球电路的影响

• 批准号: 2301365
• 负责人: Gang Li
• 金额: $ 71.05万
• 依托单位: University of Alabama in Huntsville
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-06-01 至 2027-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2301365&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SHINE; Understanding; Impact; Solar; Energetic

Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) are identified as the top space weather hazard. These particles, when propagating to the Earth, create risks to astronauts, electronics onboard satellites, and to other human-built infrastructure and technology. Previous studies have suggested that SEPs can even influence Earth’s climate. As these particles precipitate down in the Earth’s atmosphere, they deposit their energy through ionization, modify atmospheric chemistry, and lead to cloud formation. The coupling between SEP-related space weather phenomena and tropospheric climate can be essential for the human environment, and this coupling exists, in part, through the Global Electric Circuit (GEC). A thorough understanding of this coupling requires a thorough understanding of how the GEC responds to SEPs and Forbush Decreases (FDs), and requires collaborative efforts from researchers from heliospheric physics, cosmic ray physics, and atmospheric physics. This project is an interdisciplinary study to increase understanding on how SEPs affect the GEC and terrestrial weather or climate. This proposal will support one postdoc and a summer graduate student, therefore helping to train the next generation of space plasma and atmospheric scientists. This work aims to understand the effect of SEPs and FDs on the Global Electric Circuit. It will focus on how the measured potential gradient (PG) in fair weather conditions responds to SEPs and FDs across the globe and how lightning respond to SEPs and FDs. The methodology will involve both data analysis and numerical simulation. To achieve the science goals the team will, 1) Examine the correlation between PG increases in fair weather conditions and station altitude and magnetic latitude; 2) Identify the possible relationship between the characteristics of SEPs and solar wind and the PG increases in fair weather condition; 3) Identify the possible relationship between Forbush Decrease characteristics and PG increases in fair weather conditions; 4) Understand the global ionization profiles during SEP events by comparing observations of PG increases with Monte-Carlo simulations; and 5) Investigate the relationship between SEP events and lightning.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.

太阳高能粒子（SEP）是目前公认的最大的空间天气灾害。当这些粒子传播到地球时，会对宇航员、卫星上的电子设备以及其他人类建造的基础设施和技术造成风险。以前的研究表明，SEPs甚至可以影响地球的气候。当这些粒子在地球大气中沉淀下来时，它们通过电离存款能量，改变大气化学，并导致云的形成。与SEP有关的空间天气现象与对流层气候之间的耦合对人类环境至关重要，这种耦合部分是通过全球电路存在的。要彻底了解这种耦合，需要彻底了解GEC如何响应SEP和Forbush下降（FD），并需要来自日光层物理学，宇宙射线物理学和大气物理学的研究人员的合作努力。该项目是一个跨学科的研究，以增加对SEPs如何影响GEC和陆地天气或气候的理解。这项提议将资助一名博士后和一名暑期研究生，从而有助于培养下一代空间等离子体和大气科学家。这项工作旨在了解SEP和FD对全球电路的影响。它将重点关注在晴朗天气条件下测量的电位梯度（PG）如何响应地球仪的SEP和FD，以及闪电如何响应SEP和FD。该方法将涉及数据分析和数值模拟。为了实现科学目标，该小组将：1）检查在晴朗天气条件下PG增加与台站高度和磁纬度之间的相关性; 2）确定SEP和太阳风的特征与晴朗天气条件下PG增加之间的可能关系; 3）确定Forbush减少特征与晴朗天气条件下PG增加之间的可能关系; 4）通过比较PG增加的观测值与蒙特-卡罗模拟，了解SEP事件期间的全球电离轮廓; 5）调查SEP事件与闪电之间的关系。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。