Upgrading the Jicamarca Radio Observatory

佩鲁利马附近的Jicamarca射电观测站是研究磁赤道附近高层大气中等离子体过程的主要地面设施。Jicamara今年将庆祝其成立60周年。在它的一生中，它经历了不断的更新，因此在大多数方面仍然代表着无线电技术的最先进水平。然而，Jicamara的一些系统已经过时，这影响了该设施的科学潜力。这项工作将通过获得一个最终的管状放大器，用现代固态单元取代Jicamara的两个管型驱动放大器，升级Jicamara电离层探测仪，以及更换光学数码相机来扩大这一潜力。技术升级将提高天文台的弹性并延长其寿命，同时还将极大地增强其支持新测量模式的能力。这些将包括具有潜在变革性的直接探测日冕的能力，将顶部和内部磁层的测量范围从目前的上限6 000公里扩大到10 000公里，以及等离子体参数的长期测量。这反过来将为研究赤道等离子体过程提供新的方法，例如太阳和地磁风暴后的等离子体层再填充、赤道扩展F的形成和风暴时间赤道电动力学，以及用于业务空间天气模拟和预报目的。Jicamara有两个非常成功的教育项目，如Jicamara国际研究体验项目，这是一个对国际(非秘鲁)学生开放的竞争性项目，以及一个针对秘鲁本科生的STEM项目。该项目的重要而广泛的影响将是通过为学生和受训人员提供更多和新颖的研究项目来增加STEM教育机会。增加的能力和测量模式还将与几个卫星任务提供新的协同效应，包括用于气象、电离层和气候2的星座观测系统和电离层连接探测器。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，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 Jicamarca Radio Observatory near Lima, Perú is a premier ground-based facility for studying plasma processes in the upper atmosphere near the magnetic equator. Jicamarca is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Over its life, it has undergone continuous renewal and so still represents the state of the art in radio technology in most respects. Some of the systems at Jicamarca are outdated, however, which impacts the scientific potential of the facility. The work will expand this potential by acquiring a final tube amplifier, replacing Jicamarca’s two tube-type driver amplifiers with modern solid-state units, upgrade the Jicamarca ionospheric sounder, and replacing an optical digital camera. The technical upgrades will improve the resilience and extend the lifetime of the observatory, while also dramatically enhancing its capabilities to enable new measurement modes. These will include a potentially transformative capability to directly probe the solar corona, an extension of topside and inner-magnetosphere measurements to 10,000 km from the current top limit of 6,000 km, and long-term measurements of plasma parameters. These, in turn, will provide novel ways to study equatorial plasma processes such as plasmaspheric refilling following solar and geomagnetic storms, formation of the equatorial spread F, and storm-time equatorial electrodynamics, as well as for operational space weather modeling and forecast purposes. Jicamarca has two highly successful educational programs such as the Jicamarca International Research Experience Program, a competitive program which is open to international (non-Peruvian) students, and a STEM program intended for Peruvian undergraduate students. The important broader impact of this project will be an enhancement of STEM educational opportunities through the provision of additional and novel research projects for the students and trainees. The additional capabilities and measurement modes will also provide new synergies with several satellite missions including the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate 2 and the Ionospheric Connection Explorer.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.