Antarctic Super DARN Research Operations and System Enhancements

超级双极光雷达网，或称SuperDARN，是一个国际合作实验，用于观测地球高层大气中的等离子体运动，通过观测电离层等离子体对流，可以研究多种地球物理过程。这些过程从电离层E层等离子体不稳定性到极光光度和电离层电场之间的关系，以及从全球范围的电离层对流对太阳风和行星际磁场变化的响应。这些研究领域中的每一个都有助于空间物理研究的总体目标--了解太阳风能进入地球高层大气的耦合及其对人造分布式系统的影响，如为各种应用而建造的通信网络、电网和管道。该奖项将支持安装在南极麦克默多站(MCM)和阿蒙森-斯科特南极站(SPS)的SuperDARN雷达的操作和研究。后一种雷达也将得到增强，以便能够进行极化观测，因为目前还没有SuperDARN雷达具有这种能力来表征其接收信号的极化。向SuperDARN雷达提供这种能力将为SuperDARN开辟全新的研究领域。SPS雷达位于极地冰盖顶部的物理位置为在SuperDARN雷达的工作频率上进行极化观测提供了独特的机会。虽然在其他地方可以进行极化测量，但南极没有地面反射大大简化了信号解释，并使研究能够利用磁离子效应(称为法拉第旋转)来表征沿高频信号射线路径的电子密度。作为全球SuperDARN网络的一部分，这一合作的科学努力通过培训学生和年轻研究人员在工程项目和数据分析方面产生广泛的社会影响。该奖项反映了NSF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 Super Dual Auroral Radar Network, or SuperDARN, is an international collaborative experiment for observations of plasma motions in Earth’s upper atmosphere where, by observing ionospheric plasma convection, a multitude of geophysical processes can be studied. These processes range from the ionospheric E-layer plasma instabilities to the relationships between auroral luminosity and ionospheric electric fields, as well as from the global-scale ionospheric convective response to changes in the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field. Each of these areas of study contributes to the overall goals of the space physics research - understanding of the coupling of solar wind energy into Earth's upper atmosphere and its effects on manmade, distributed systems such as communication networks, electrical grids, and pipelines build for various applications.This award will support operation of, and research using data from, the SuperDARN radars installed at McMurdo Station (MCM) and Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station (SPS), Antarctica. The latter radar will also be enhanced to enable polarimetric observations because no SuperDARN radars currently have this ability to characterize polarization of their received signals. Providing this capability to SuperDARN radars will open up entirely new research areas for SuperDARN. The physical location of the SPS radar atop the polar ice cap provides a unique opportunity for polarization observations at the frequencies of operation of the SuperDARN radars. While polarization measurements would be possible elsewhere, the absence of ground reflections at South Pole significantly simplifies the signal interpretation and enables investigations exploiting the magneto-ionic effect (known as Faraday rotation) to characterize the electron density along the high-frequency signal ray paths. As part of the global SuperDARN network, this cooperative scientific effort fosters broad societal impacts as training students and young researchers with "both hands" on the engineering projects and data analysis.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.