How does the aurora heat the upper atmosphere?

我的研究将研究极光，这是一种美丽的景象，是由来自太空的高能粒子以大约4000万英里每小时的速度撞击地球大气层造成的。极光通常会向大气中释放50吉瓦的能量，相当于英国的用电量。这种巨大的能量来源对高层大气的温度和组成有相当大的影响，特别是在极地地区。因此，极光是对整个大气进行计算机模拟所需的众多成分之一，这种模拟可以预测地球气候和臭氧等气体浓度的变化。强烈的电流在极光内部和周围流动，就像电流加热电阻器一样加热大气。这种升温对高层大气有巨大的影响，但几个基本方面仍未确定。以前，测量极光高度的大气温度是非常困难的；它对气象气球来说太高了，但对宇宙飞船来说又太低了。然而，通过实验和理论，我最近有了一个令人兴奋的发现：两种特定极光颜色的亮度比例取决于大气的温度；因此，通过观察极光的波长，我们可以计算出温度。我的想法是使用配备彩色滤光片的极其灵敏的相机来绘制大气温度图，就像热成像仪一样。这些温度图可以与高层大气的雷达测量相结合，以估计电导率，电导率是影响近地空间和大气中电流流动的重要特性。计算机模拟将帮助我了解不同类型的极光是如何产生的，它们产生什么样的电流，以及极光是如何影响高层大气的温度和化学成分的。

My research will study the aurora, a beautiful display caused by energetic particles from space hitting the Earth's atmosphere at about 40 million mph. The aurora typically deposits 50 GW of power into the atmosphere, comparable to the electricity consumption of the UK. This huge energy source has considerable influence on the temperature and composition of the upper atmosphere, particularly in polar regions. The aurora is therefore one of many ingredients needed for computer simulations of the whole atmosphere, which predict changes to Earth's climate and to concentrations of gases such as ozone.Intense currents flow within and around aurora, heating the atmosphere just as an electric current heats a resistor. This heating has dramatic effects on the upper atmosphere, but several fundamental aspects remain undetermined. Previously it has been very difficult to measure the temperature of the atmosphere at auroral heights; it is too high for weather balloons, but too low for spacecraft. However, I recently made the exciting discovery, through experiment and theory, that the ratio of brightnesses of two specific auroral colours depends on the temperature of the atmosphere; therefore by observing these wavelengths in the aurora we can calculate the temperature. My idea is to use extremely sensitive cameras equipped with colour filters to make maps of atmospheric temperature, just like a thermal imaging camera. These temperature maps can be combined with radar measurements of the upper atmosphere to estimate the electrical conductivity, which is an important property influencing the flow of electric current through near-Earth space and the atmosphere. A computer simulation will help me to understand how different types of aurora are produced, what electric currents they generate, and how the aurora affects the temperature and chemistry of the upper atmosphere.