| NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 11, 2010 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 11, 2010 |
| Award Number: | 1023265 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
William J. Wiseman, Jr.
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2010 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2014 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $82,786.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $82,786.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1000 OLD MAIN HL LOGAN UT US 84322-1000 (435)797-1226 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1000 OLD MAIN HL LOGAN UT US 84322-1000 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | ANS-Arctic Natural Sciences |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
The research objective is to utilize a suite of instruments, including
an airglow imager, to investigate short-period
gravity waves in the Arctic atmosphere over Alaska. Short-period
gravity waves are an important component of the larger atmospheric
circulation as these waves are believed to transport a large amount of
vertical moment flux into the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT)
region. While the propagation nature and sources of these waves have
been studied extensively at low- and mid-latitudes, little is known about their behavior at high latitudes. Recent efforts have
begun to characterize the waves over the Antarctic continent, while
the project proposed here will focus on the Arctic. Specifically, the
proposed research will establish a long-term winter time series of
short-period gravity waves in the Arctic, including their dominant
source regions, and influences of large-scale tidal and planetary wave
motion. The co-located Rayleigh lidar will provide essential high
vertical resolution temperature measurements to help elucidate the
vertical wave propagation, individual wave contribution to the
Eliassen-Palm (EP) flux, and coupling between the lower and upper
atmosphere during stratospheric warming events.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Project Outcomes Report
Award Title: COLLABORATIVE PROPOSAL: An Investigation of Wave Dynamics in the Arctic Mesosphere and Coupling Between the Lower and Upper Polar Atmosphere
Federal Award ID: 1023265
Report Submission Period: 09/01/2013 to 08/31/2014
The major research goal of this collaborative program with Utah Valley University has been to investigate the characteristics and propagation of atmospheric waves, colloquially termed “gravity waves”, in the high Arctic region where prior measurements have been sparse. Gravity waves are an important atmospheric phenomenon naturally generated by strong weather disturbances, such as storms and fronts, and they can transfer large amounts of energy into the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. Remote-sensing measurements of these waves provide an important way to study their influence on the upper atmospheric dynamics and the coupling of weather into the Earth’s near-space environment.
Coordinated measurements were made over three winter seasons to quantify wave characteristics using a specialized “night-vision” camera, a laser ranging (lidar) system and powerful radar system co-located at the Poker Flat Research Range in central Alaska. Our primary role at Utah State University has been to provide expertise in image data analysis of the gravity waves by guiding the development of a graduate student (Mr. Michael Negale) in the analysis of these joint data sets and their interpretation. His studies, focused on wave properties and coupling, have demonstrated quantitatively that variations in the middle atmospheric winds were responsible for the strong asymmetry observed in the wave propagation headings, helping establish that “wind filtering” is a key mechanism for controlling the upward flow of wave energy at high-latitudes. Michael’s research has also yielded a novel statistical analysis of wave characteristics penetrating to very high altitudes (~ 300 km) into the ionosphere.
These results provide a first measure of longitudinal variability of gravity waves in the Arctic upper atmosphere enabling a direct comparison with similar gravity wave measurements currently being made by US and international colleagues in Antarctica. Together these studies are important for helping assess gravity wave impacts on the polar near-space environment.
This program has contributed significantly to the training of Mr. Michael Negale, a young Native American, in novel image data analysis techniques as well as providing him with “hands on” opportunities with new instrumentation and field measurement experience. This research program has also helped Michael gain strong communication and leadership skills which have promoted him to a position of a “role model” in the Native American community. He is very active in supporting the education of K-12 students and in helping motivate fellow Native Americans in their higher education aspirations. A recent front cover article in “Winds of Change” magazine describes Michael’s road to academic success, helping inspire others to follow their dreams.
Last Modified: 11/26/2014
Modified by: Michael J Taylor
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