Development of an Autonomous Real-time Remote Observatory (ARRO)

这项工作将开发一个自主实时远程天文台（ARRO），它将被设计成容纳至少12个仪器的集成套件，其目标是实现从极冷的极地地点（如南极高原和格陵兰岛内陆）进行可靠的多仪器观测。它将包括一个电力系统和足够用于实验的加热空间，以及数据采集、数据存储和通过卫星实时数据传输的能力。作为提议工作的一部分，这个天文台的两个原型将被建造并在华盛顿山和南极的冷室中进行长时间的测试。几个不同领域的重大突出科学问题推动了对能够在极地地区运行的可靠自主观测站网络的需求。在日地物理学中，地磁极帽是研究太阳风与地球磁层相互作用的关键窗口。在大气科学领域，这项新技术的一个重要研究对象是1a型（三水合硝酸）极地平流层云，它与每年春季南极上空平流层臭氧的破坏有关。对于陆地地震研究，一个中心目标是通过分析地震后收到的地震信号来确定地壳和地幔结构，这种方法需要在研究地区建立接收站网络。南极洲的地震特征并不为人所知，此外，由于在高纬度地区没有地震台站，导致人们对地核的极地地区一无所知，因为穿透该地区的声射线路径只能在极高纬度地区接收到。虽然ARRO发展计划的直接应用之一是取代目前在南极内部的自动地球物理观测站（AGO），但ARRO的设计足够灵活，可以合并额外的仪器，并使越来越多的机构和个人研究人员能够追求广泛的科学议程。最后，ARRO的发展包括几个不同层次的研究和研究培训。学生将直接参与开发，从最初的设计阶段到将设备部署到华盛顿山和南极。最终在极地冰盖上建立一个观测站网络，将会有更多的学生参与到广泛的科学议程中来。ARRO还包括与学术科学界以外的工业和政府单位的重要联系，他们的参与将提高这些公司在寒冷天气和高海拔具有挑战性的环境中应用技术为国家服务的能力。

This work will develop an Autonomous Real-time Remote Observatory (ARRO), which will be designed to accommodate an integrated suite of at least a dozen instruments, with the goal of enabling reliable multi-instrument observations from extremely cold polar sites, such as the Antarctic plateau and the interior of Greenland. It will include a power system and heated space sufficient for the experiments, as well as the capability for data acquisition, data storage, and real time data transmission via satellite. As part of the proposed work, two prototypes of this observatory will be built and tested for extended periods of time in cold chambers, on Mt. Washington, and at the South Pole. Significant outstanding science issues in several diverse fields drive the need for a network of reliable autonomous observatories capable of operation in polar regions. In solar-terrestrial physics, the geomagnetic polar cap forms a key window on the interaction between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere. In the field of atmospheric science one vital object of study for this new technology is the Type 1a (nitric acid trihydrate) polar stratospheric cloud, implicated in the annual austral springtime destruction of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica. For terrestrial seismic studies, a central goal is determining the crustal and mantle structure from analysis of seismic signals received following earthquakes, a methodology which requires a network of receiving stations over the area of study. The seismic character of Antarctica is not well-known, and furthermore, the lack of seismic stations at very high latitudes translates into ignorance of the polar regions of the Earth's core, since acoustic ray paths penetrating this region can only be received at extremely high latitudes. While one of the immediate applications of the proposed ARRO development is to replace the current generation of Automatic Geophysical Observatories (AGO's) in the Antarctic interior, the ARRO design is sufficiently agile to incorporate additional instrumentation and enable pursuit of a broad science agenda by a large and growing group of institutions and individual investigators. Finally, ARRO development includes several different layers of research and research training. Students will be directly involved in the development, from the initial design stages to deployment of the units to Mt. Washington and the South Pole. The eventual establishment of a network of observatories over the polar cap will involve a much larger number of students in a broad scientific agenda. ARRO also includes significant connections to industry and government units outside of the academic science community, and their participation will sharpen the capabilities of these companies to serve the nation in applications of technology to challenging environments of cold weather and high altitudes.