Collaborative Research: Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) to Study Ion-neutral Coupling near the Southern Crest of the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly in the American Sector

研究人员将建造一个Fabry-Perot干涉仪（FPI），并将其安装在赤道电离异常（EIA）的南波峰附近，最初安装在梅赛德斯天文台（进行约3-6个月的观测活动），后来安装在El Leoncito天文台，那里已经有了额外的电离层仪器。中性风和温度是了解高层大气过程所需的关键参数。我们对高层大气中性参数的大部分知识来自fpi的观测。在~250-300公里和~95公里处的风和温度测量将与同位置光学和电离层探空仪器获得的其他参数相结合。研究的主要目的是提高对该地区离子中性耦合过程的理解。不同的实验将会进行，例如使用其他fpi比较中性风的纬度，比较纬向风和纬向等离子体漂移（从气辉消耗的运动推断），以及研究高纬度午夜最高温度（MTM）效应。这项研究还将有助于高层大气动力学和电动力学的研究。这项工作包括组织一次关于高层大气多仪器研究的小型讲习班，以促进美国和阿根廷研究人员之间的合作。

The investigators will build a Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) and install it near the southern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) initially at the Mercedes Observatory (for a ~ 3-6 month campaign observation) and later at El Leoncito Observatory, where additional ionospheric instrumentation already exists. Neutral winds and temperatures are key parameters needed to understand upper atmosphere processes. Most of our knowledge of neutral parameters in the upper atmosphere comes from observations obtained by FPIs. The measurement of winds and temperatures at ~250-300 km and at ~95 km will be combined with other parameters obtained with co-located optical and ionosonde instrumentation. The main objective of the study is to improve understanding of ion-neutral coupling processes in the region. Different experiments will be carried out, e.g., the latitudinal comparison of neutral winds using other FPIs, the comparison of zonal winds and zonal plasma drifts (inferred from the motion of airglow depletions), and the study of high latitude midnight temperature maximum (MTM) effects. The study will also contribute to research on the dynamics and electrodynamics of the upper atmosphere. The effort includes the organization of a mini-workshop on multi-instrument studies of the upper atmosphere to foster the collaboration between U.S. and Argentine researchers.