Characterizing Mesoscale Thermospheric F-region Winds Associated with Quasi-steady and Transient Nightside Auroral Arcs

磁层是高纬度热层内极光能量和动量输送的主要来源。这些所谓中尺度的风在输送过程中起着至关重要的作用，但由于缺乏观测，从来没有系统地描述过。PI将对中尺度F区(距地球150-600公里？S地表)风的发生、结构和演变进行统计分类。拟议的努力利用了美国国家科学基金会的大量资产，为从极光形态推断风奠定了基础。这项工作将为在中尺度上模拟磁层-电离层-热层相互作用的工作提供信息。其更广泛的影响包括支持年轻科学家和一名女性博士后，以及宣传极光事件。该团队将根据不同的极光弧以及地磁和太阳条件对中尺度风进行分类。他们将把欧洲卫星风数据与几个紧密分布的数据集进行协同，并/或观测阿拉斯加和加拿大西部的共同体积。热层风的空间尺度和方向提供了关于潜在强迫的信息，并作为电离层-热层耦合效率的指标。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The magnetosphere is a leading source of auroral energy and momentum transport within the high-latitude thermosphere. Winds at these so-called 'meso' scales play a crucial role in the transport processes, yet have never been systematically characterized due to lack of observations. The PIs will statistically catalog mesoscale F-region (150-600 km above Earth?s surface) wind occurrences, structure and evolution. The proposed efforts leverage substantial NSF assets to lay the ground for inferring winds from auroral morphology. This work will inform efforts to model magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere interaction at mesoscales. Its broader impacts include support for young scientists and a female postdoc, and publicizing auroral events. The team will categorize mesoscale winds according to different auroral arcs and geomagnetic and solar conditions. They will synergize European satellite wind data with several datasets that are closely spaced and/or observe common volumes over Alaska and western Canada. The spatial scales and direction of thermospheric winds provide information on underlying forcing, and serve as indicators of the efficiency of ionosphere-thermosphere coupling.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.