Coupling processes int he middle/upper atmospheres of the terrestrial planets

关于我们大气层的一个重要问题仍然只是部分得到解决，那就是为什么尽管温度、风、成分分布和大尺度波浪的形式发生变化，它仍然保持着相似的年复一年的结构。迄今为止，在成功地确定这些周期的特征方面已经付出了很多努力。虽然理解这些周期很重要，但理解维持这种准平衡的潜在机制同样重要。有了这些知识，我们可以预测如果条件发生变化（例如由于太阳变化、自然灾害或人为影响），这些大气可能会如何演变。这样的努力不是微不足道的。大气是一个非线性系统，在不同高度之间具有非局域辐射联系。为了解决这一问题，必须识别和量化大尺度风场和温度场、各尺度的成分分布和波浪之间的耦合。本提案的目的是探索类地行星-特别是地球和火星-中高层大气中的这些耦合机制。该项目包括开发和改进加拿大开发的一种名为多普勒成像的观测技术，用于测量动态特征（风、温度和成分变化），分析空间和地面观测，开发模型来解释特定过程和分析一般环流模型结果。这种努力强调测量和对观察的分析。这项观测技术有潜力成为观测地球、火星或金星大气动力学的卫星仪器。建模工作将有助于对观测结果的解释和对观测到的动力学特征所涉及的物理过程的验证。

One of the significant questions about our atmosphere which remains only partially solved is why it maintains a similar structure year to year in spite of variations in the temperature, winds, constituent distributions and the form of the large scale waves. To date, much effort has been exerted in successfully defining the characteristics of these cycles. While it is important for these cycles to be understood, it is equally important to understand the underlying mechanisms which maintain this quasi-equilibrium. With this knowledge we can predict how these atmospheres might evolve should conditions change (for example due to solar variability, natural disasters or anthropogenic influences). Such an effort is not trivial. The atmosphere is a non-linear system with non-local radiative connections between various heights. The coupling between the large scale wind and temperature fields, contituent distributions and waves of all scales must be indentified and quantified to address this problem. The objective of this proposal is to explore these coupling mechanisms in the middle and upper atmospheres of the terrestrial planets - in particular the Earth and Mars. The program involves the development and refinement of an observation technique developed in Canada called Doppler Imaging for measuring dynamical signatures (wind, temperature and constituent variations), the analysis of space and ground based observations, the development of models to explain particular processes and the analysis of general circulation model results. This effort emphasizes measurements and the analysis of observations. The observation technique has potential as a satellite instrument for observing the dynamics in the atmospheres of the Earth, Mars or Venus. The modelling effort will aid in the interpretation of the observations and the validation of the physical processes involved in the observed dynamical features.