Collaborative Research: Turbulence and Wave Dynamics from the Mesosphere to the Lower Thermosphere above the Andes

该合同将支持位于智利塞罗帕乔的安第斯激光雷达观测站(30.26S，70.74W，ELEV)的Na风温激光雷达的继续运行。2530米)，以研究中间层和低热层(MLT)动力学和离子-中性耦合过程。Alo的激光雷达是最先进的钠共振荧光多普勒激光雷达，能够在80-105公里高度范围内以高垂直(500米)和时间(1分钟)的高分辨率测量3D风、中性温度和钠密度分布。ALO激光雷达能力的两项关键进展包括将激光雷达观测范围扩展到较低的热层，测量高度可达140公里的风和温度，以及能够探测温度和风中的湍流尺度扰动，这将使研究能够侧重于处于多层螺旋CT科学前沿的科学主题。定义MLT中的动力学、结构和可变性的物理过程也在整个大气层和所有分层和剪切的地球物理流体中运作，例如海洋、湖泊、其他行星大气和恒星内部。该项目将为博士后研究人员、研究生和本科生提供参与科学、工程和观察的机会。利用位于阿洛的纳激光雷达获得的数据将为对从低层大气到高层热层的研究感兴趣的广大社区提供服务。可能的科学目标是：确定湍流通量、热量和动量的涡旋扩散系数以及普朗特数；调查不同尺度上重力波耗散引起的热量和能量的垂直输送；量化不同季节重力波、潮汐和行星波之间的相互作用；分析和模拟重力波在多变背景大气中的演变过程；以及了解热层钠层形成的离子-中性耦合过程。

This award would support the continued operations of the Na wind-temperature lidar at Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO) in Cerro Pachón, Chile (30.26S, 70.74W, elev. 2530 m) to study the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) dynamics and ion-neutral coupling processes. The lidar at ALO is a state-of-the-art Na resonance-fluorescence Doppler lidar, capable of measuring 3D wind, neutral temperature and Na density profiles at high vertical (500 m) and temporal (1 min) resolutions in the 80-105 km altitude range with high accuracy. Two key advancements of ALO lidar capabilities featuring the extension of lidar observing profile into the lower thermosphere, with wind and temperature measurements up to 140 km altitude, and the ability to detect turbulence scale perturbations in temperature and wind would enable investigations focused on scientific topics that are at the forefront of MLT science. The physical processes that define the dynamics, structure, and variability in the MLT also operate throughout the atmosphere and in all stratified and sheared geophysical fluids, e.g., oceans, lakes, other planetary atmospheres and stellar interiors. This project would provide opportunities for a postdoc researcher, graduate and undergraduate students to participate in the science, engineering and observations. The data acquired with the Na lidar at ALO will serve a broad community interested in research from the lower atmosphere to the upper thermosphere. Possible science goals that would be studied through the application of the measurements collected are: determination of turbulence fluxes and eddy diffusion coefficients of heat and momentum and the Prandtl number; investigation of the vertical transport of heat and energy caused by dissipating gravity waves at various scales,quantification of the interactions among gravity waves, tides, and planetary waves at different seasons;analysis and modeling of gravity wave evolution process through variable background atmosphere; and understanding the ion-neutral coupling processes underlying the formation of thermospheric Na layers.