U.S.-Japan Cooperative Research: Upper Atmosphere Studies with the MU Radar

该奖项将支持波士顿大学电气、计算机和系统工程系和空间物理中心的William Oliver教授和京都大学无线电大气科学中心的Shoichiro Fukao教授之间为期两年的美日合作科学项目。该项目包括利用茂名的MU(中高层大气)雷达和位于日本经度的电离层探测仪研究高层大气和电离层中的大尺度动力系统。这项研究将试图验证并区分理论上表明存在的三种不同的环流系统：太阳次太阳点上由太阳光子加热驱动的“正常”环流系统，以及在太阳风对地球磁环境的扰动期间从极光和赤道地区驱动的“扰动”环流系统。在1992年夏天，调查人员将试图核实这些系统的存在，确定它们的边界，并观察它们在扰动期间的纬向扩张和收缩。在1993年夏天，他们将尝试将这些环流建立的电离层漂移方向和梯度与等离子体不稳定产生的理论联系起来，看看这些条件是否能为MU雷达在电离层发现的显著不规则性的产生提供种子。

This award will support a two-year U.S.-Japan cooperative science project between Professor William Oliver, Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering and Center for Space Physics, Boston University, and Professor Shoichiro Fukao, Radio Atmospheric Science Center, Kyoto University. The project involves study of large-scale dynamical systems in the upper- atmosphere and ionosphere with MU (Middle and Upper atmosphere) radar at Shigaraki and the chain of ionosondes located at Japanese longitudes. The study will attempt to verify the existence of and distinguish between three different circulation systems indicated to exist by theory: the "normal" circulation system driven by solar photon heating at the sub-solar point and the "disturbance" circulation systems driven from the auroral and equatorial regions during periods of solar-wind disturbance of the earth's magnetic environment. During the summer of 1992 the investigators will attempt to verify the existence of these systems, identify their boundaries, and observe their latitudinal expansions and contractions during disturbance periods. During the summer of 1993 they will attempt to relate the ionospheric drift directions and gradients established by these circulations to theories of plasma instability generation to see if these conditions can provide seeding for the generation of the remarkable irregularities discovered by the MU radar in the ionosphere.