Collaborative Research: Fe and Na Lidar Investigations of Geospace-Atmosphere Temperature, Composition, Chemistry, and Dynamics at McMurdo, Antarctica

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。地球空间耦合系统由多个域组成，通过地球磁层向极地电离层和热层（中性高层大气）传递太阳风能量和动量。100-200 km高度区域是磁层能量通过带电粒子的沉淀和上层大气的焦耳加热而耗散的最重要区域之一。然而，这个区域的等离子体中性耦合是最不容易理解的，因为它位于卫星观测高度以下，所以这里只能使用地球表面的遥感技术——在这个高度范围内观察到中性风和温度是罕见的。在过去的十年里，由南极洲麦克默多站的激光雷达仪器所获得的观测数据已经促成了引人注目的新科学。等离子体中性耦合的研究显著地促进了对这些复杂空间-大气相互作用的理解。该奖项将推进从地面到热层的多阶垂直波耦合的新概念，该概念是由麦克默多激光雷达的发现发展而来的。这一概念通过更好地评估低层大气强迫对电离层和热层动力学的影响，有助于推进空间天气模型。重力波通过波阻和混合作用于极地高层大气的强迫现象对大气环流模拟、大气化学模拟、热平衡计算、气辉和金属层的研究以及宇宙尘埃流入的估计等一系列研究问题具有重要意义。绝对温度气候学的发展对于校准极地热层及其与中间层和低层大气的联系的卫星观测是至关重要的——它们是验证全球气候模式所需要的，并且从现在起几十年将作为评估南极气候变化长期温度趋势的基线。麦克默多天文台使用的钠和铁玻尔兹曼激光雷达获得了中性大气参数的垂直剖面，包括30至200公里的温度、垂直风以及中间层和低层热层区域的铁和钠密度。这将为与复杂的物理、化学、极地大气和地球空间动力学相关的新科学问题提供答案，这些问题受到麦克默多激光雷达发现的启发。这些研究为培养新一代科学家和工程师提供了独特的机会。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知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).The Geospace coupling system consists of multiple domains transferring solar wind energy and momentum through the Earth's magnetosphere down to the polar ionosphere and thermosphere (neutral upper atmosphere). The 100-200 km altitude region is one of the most important domains where the magnetospheric energy dissipates by precipitating charged particles and respective Joule heating of the upper atmosphere. However, this plasma-neutral coupling in this domain is the lees understood one because it is located well below satellite-observing altitudes, so only remote sensing techniques from the Earth's surface are available here - and observations of neutral winds and temperatures in this range of altitudes are rare. The observations that have been acquired by the LIDAR instrumentation at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica over the last decade have already enabled compelling new science. Studies of plasma-neutral coupling significantly advanced understanding of these complex space-atmosphere interactions. This award will advance a new concept of multistep vertical wave coupling from ground to the thermosphere that was develop from discoveries made by McMurdo lidars. This concept helps advancing the space weather modeling by better assessing the impact of the lower atmosphere forcing on the ionosphere and thermosphere dynamics. Gravity wave forcing on the polar upper atmosphere via wave drag and mixing is important to a wide range of research problems, including general circulation modeling, atmospheric chemistry modeling, thermal balance calculations, studies of airglow and metal layers, and the estimates of the cosmic dust influx. The development of the absolute temperature climatology is crucial for calibrating satellite observations of the polar thermosphere and its connections with the mesosphere and lower atmosphere – they are needed to validate global climate models, and decades from now will serve as the baseline against which long-term temperature trends in the changing Antarctic climate are assessed. The sodium and Fe-Boltzmann lidars that have been operated at McMurdo acquire vertical profiles of neutral atmospheric parameters, including temperature from 30 to ~200 km, vertical winds, and iron & sodium densities in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region. This will provide answers on new science questions related to the complex physics, chemistry, and dynamics of the polar atmosphere and Geospace that are inspired by McMurdo lidar discoveries. These studies provided unique opportunities to train a new generation of scientists and engineers.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.