Local-Scale Drivers and Responses of Thermospheric Weather above Antarctica

Observations of the Earth's upper atmosphere at the altitudes from above 100-km to a few hundred kilometers is subjected to highly variable forces as from the top (energy and momentum transferred down from the solar wind interaction with geomagnetic field) as well as from the bottom – from the lower atmosphere and mesosphere which generate gravity waves from the global atmospheric circulation driven mainly by the solar radiation. It is not easy to explore the upper atmosphere which lays below the satellite orbits, so only a remote technique instrumentation (such ground-based Fabry-Perot Spectrometers, FPS) is used for that kind of studies.

Latitudes of interests here are polar regions, specifically Antarctica where two modern FPSs are deployed at McMurdo and South Pole stations.

This award will focus on the behavior and governing physics of the transition from the neutral fluid-like dynamics in the lower atmosphere to the plasma electrodynamics in the ionosphere and geospace domain above it. This transitional domain is frequently called the Space-Atmosphere Interaction Region (SAIR). Knowledge of SAIR's properties and dynamics are important because they strongly impact many modern technological systems such as radio wave communication, navigation, and long-range radar applications.

The primary goals of this research are identifying the role of waves and tides propagating upward from below and driving perturbation within the SAIR, and what is the role of forcing from above in driving high-latitudes thermospheric weather. The broader impact of this research is training the next generation of scientists through deep involvment of students and active support for diversity and inclusion.

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.