EISCAT_3D: Fine-scale structuring, scintillation, and electrodynamics (FINESSE)

EISCAT_3D：精细结构、闪烁和电动力学 (FINESSE)

• 批准号: NE/W003015/1
• 负责人: Adrian Grocott
• 金额: $ 14.44万
• 依托单位: Lancaster University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FW003015%2F1
• 关键词: EISCAT_3D; Fine; scale; structuring; scintillation

The UK along with the rest of the world is becoming increasingly dependent on technological systems, including satellite communications, global positioning systems, and power grids, that are at risk from space weather. Many space weather hazards originate in the ionosphere, the ionised upper part of the atmosphere at altitudes of 90 km and above, where solar wind energy channelled by the Earth's magnetic field can cause a variety of unpredictable and deleterious effects. It causes electrical currents to flow, which heat the atmosphere in a process known as Joule heating, which in turn can cause the atmosphere to expand upwards, producing drag on satellites, hence making their orbits harder to predict and reducing their lifetimes. It produces horizontal motions of the ionosphere which modify the neutral winds in the thermosphere through friction. It produces the auroras, associated with particle precipitation from the magnetosphere above, which modify the ionospheric structure. Moreover, it gives rise to plasma instabilities which cause the ionosphere to become corrugated, scattering radio waves from satellites consequently disturbing communications and GPS. Although the large-scale distribution of such space weather hazards is relatively well reproduced in global circulation models, the physics occurring on spatial scales smaller than the model grid is poorly understood, which holds back improvements in forecasting. The FINESSE project will exploit a new and unique NERC-funded incoherent scatter radar system, EISCAT_3D, located in northern Scandinavia, to study these sub-grid space weather scales. EISCAT_3D will be able to determine the ionospheric structure in a box roughly 200 km to a side horizontally and 800 km vertically, at an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution, to image the processes leading to space weather effects. FINESSE will also exploit a next-generation coherent scatter radar to measure ionospheric motions, three neutral wind imagers to measure the interaction between the thermosphere and the ionosphere, three all-sky auroral cameras to view regions of precipitation from the magnetosphere above, a fine-scale auroral imager to observe auroral structures on spatial and temporal scales even finer than EISCAT_3D can probe, and a radio telescope and network of GPS receivers to look at the scintillation of radio signals from both cosmic sources and satellites. The main aims of FINESSE are as follows. 1) To determine the small-scale sources of Joule heating, to place these within the context of the larger picture of polar auroral disturbances, to determine the link between Joule heating and satellite drag, and to incorporate these results to improve forecast models. 2) To determine the cause of small-scale ionospheric structuring, and to understand how this leads to scintillation of radio signals. 3) To probe auroral dynamics at the very smallest temporal and spatial scales to understand the physics of coupling between the magnetosphere and ionosphere, the role auroral processes play in heating and structuring the ionosphere and atmosphere, and the instability that leads to substorms (explosive releases of energy into the nightside auroral ionosphere). FINESSE will liaise with space weather forecasters and other stakeholders to disseminate this greater understanding of small-scale processes in producing space weather hazards and to translate it into significant economic benefit to the UK.

英国以及世界其他地区越来越依赖技术系统，包括卫星通信，全球定位系统和电网，这些技术受到太空天气的风险。许多太空天气危害起源于电离层，这是90 km及以上的高度的电离上部，地球磁场传播的太阳能会导致多种不可预测和有害的效果。它导致电流流动，在称为焦耳加热的过程中加热大气，这反过来会导致大气向上膨胀，从而在卫星上产生阻力，从而使它们的轨道更难预测和降低其生命。它产生电离层的水平运动，该运动通过摩擦来改变热圈中的中性风。它产生了与上面磁层的颗粒沉淀相关的极光，从而改变了电离层结构。此外，它引起了血浆不稳定性，这会导致电离层变得波纹，从而从卫星中散射无线电波，因此扰乱了通信和GPS。尽管在全球循环模型中，这种空间天气危害的大规模分布相对较好，但在小于模型网格的空间尺度上发生的物理学的理解很少，这可以使预测的改进得到反应。 Finesse项目将利用位于斯堪的纳维亚北部的新型NERC资助的不连贯的散点雷达系统Eiscat_3d，以研究这些子网格太空天气尺度。 EISCAT_3D将能够在空间和时间分辨率的情况下，在水平和垂直方面的800 km的盒子中确定电离层结构，以对导致空间天气效应的过程进行图像。 FINESSE will also exploit a next-generation coherent scatter radar to measure ionospheric motions, three neutral wind imagers to measure the interaction between the thermosphere and the ionosphere, three all-sky auroral cameras to view regions of precipitation from the magnetosphere above, a fine-scale auroral imager to observe auroral structures on spatial and temporal scales even finer than EISCAT_3D can探测器以及GPS接收器的射电望远镜和网络，以查看来自宇宙来源和卫星的无线电信号的闪烁。技巧的主要目的如下。 1）确定焦耳加热的小规模来源，以将它们放置在极性极光扰动的较大情况下，以确定焦耳加热和卫星阻力之间的联系，并结合这些结果以改善预测模型。 2）确定小尺度电离层结构的原因，并了解这如何导致无线电信号的闪烁。 3）要在最小的时间和空间尺度上探测极光动力学，以了解磁层和电离层之间的耦合物理学，极光过程在加热和结构电离层和大气中的作用起着，以及导致替代的能量的能量（爆炸性的能量）（爆炸性的能量）（爆炸性的能量恢复到夜间的探测式探测式动力学）。技巧将与太空天气预报员和其他利益相关者联系，以使对产生太空天气危害的小规模过程的更深入了解，并将其转化为英国的重大经济利益。