Observing and Understanding the Dynamics of the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere

了解太阳/地球系统很重要，这样才能预测和规划我们生活的环境的未来变化。我的研究推进了我们对中间层和低热层(MLT，约50-150公里)的了解，这是地球大气层中一个鲜为人知但令人着迷的区域。它在低/中大气(一种能够进行多种运动的流体)和近地空间环境(一种电离介质，其运动受到与太阳有关的外部影响的限制和直接强迫)之间起到了缓冲作用。这一区域吸收与下方被迫向上移动的波(潮汐、重力波和行星波)相关的能量和动量，并将在较高海拔吸收的大部分太阳能辐射到太空。这是如何实现的细节仍不清楚。

Understanding the Sun/Earth system is important so that future changes to the environment that we live in can be predicted and planned for. My research advances our knowledge of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT, ~50 -150 km), a poorly understood but fascinating region in the Earth's atmosphere. It acts as a buffer between the lower/middle atmosphere (a fluid capable of many types of motion) and the near-Earth Space Environment (an ionized medium whose movement is constrained and directly forced by external influences associated with the Sun). This region absorbs the energy and momentum associated with upward moving waves (tides, gravity waves and planetary waves) forced below and radiates to space much of the Solar energy absorbed at higher altitudes. The details of how this is accomplished are still unclear.