Improved Understanding of Thermosphere-Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere Coupling Using Lidar Measurements

日地关系是研究太阳光和粒子能量如何进入地球大气层-电离层-磁层系统并通过其分布的科学。电离层是高层大气(距地球表面80至500公里)的带电区域，而磁层是太阳磁场与地球磁场相互作用形成的地球周围空间的延伸区域。大气部分传统上强调太阳能与低层大气的相互作用。在过去的20年里，人们已经认识到，低层大气与高层大气和电离层之间的耦合对于理解该系统至关重要。因此，有必要在大范围的高度范围内进行同步测量，以提供必要的信息，以便了解影响天气和气候的过程，无论是在地表附近还是在地表以上100公里处。 拟议中的研究项目对加拿大人有几个显著的好处。更好地了解低层、中层和高层大气之间的耦合是改进天气和气候模式的关键因素，因为发生在大气层一个区域的过程可能会对因高度、纬度、经度和时间而与第一区域隔开的其他区域产生重大影响。拟议的测量将提高我们对污染物在大气中传输的了解。现在公认的是，在世界上一个地区产生的污染可以被带到平流层，在那里它既可以影响臭氧，也可以在混合回到地面之前被输送到很远的距离。从这些研究中获得的知识将用于解决天气预报的质量、空气质量引起的健康问题、平流层臭氧水平下降、北方的全球定位系统导航以及对未来气候变化的预测。

Solar-terrestrial relations is the study of how solar light and particle energy enters and is distributed through Earth's atmosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere system. The ionosphere is the electrically charged region of the upper atmosphere (80 to 500 km above Earth's surface) while the magnetosphere is the extended region of space around Earth resulting from the Sun's magnetic field interacting with Earth's magnetic field. The atmospheric component traditionally emphasizes the interaction of solar energy with the lower atmosphere. Over the last 20 years it has been realized that the coupling of the lower atmosphere with the upper atmosphere and ionosphere is critical to understanding the system. Thus, simultaneous measurements over a wide range of heights are necessary to provide the inputs needed to understand processes which affect weather and climate, both near the surface and 100s of km above the surface. The proposed research program has several significant benefits for Canadians. A better understanding of coupling between the lower, middle and upper atmosphere is a key element to improving weather and climate models, as processes that occur in one region of the atmosphere can have a significant effect on other regions separated from the first by height, latitude, longitude and time. The proposed measurements will improve our understanding of the transport of pollutants in the atmosphere. It is now well established that pollution created in one region of the world can be lifted into the stratosphere, where it can both affect ozone and be transported great distances before being mixed back down to the surface. Knowledge gained from these studies will be used to address the quality of weather forecasts, health concerns due to air quality, declining levels of stratospheric ozone, GPS navigation in the North and predicting future climate change.