| NSF Org: |
AGS Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 21, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 25, 2017 |
| Award Number: | 1452203 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Carrie E. Black
cblack@nsf.gov (703)292-2426 AGS Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | August 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2019 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $173,030.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $173,030.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2016 = $57,605.00 FY 2017 = $59,425.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
3400 N CHARLES ST BALTIMORE MD US 21218-2608 (443)997-1898 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
11100 Johns Hopkins Road Laurel MD US 20723-6099 |
| 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): | AERONOMY |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001718DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): | |
| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
The goal of this study is to advance our understanding of the coupling and causal links between high-latitude forcing of the thermosphere and mid-latitude plasma density structuring during both quiet and storm times. The study will also characterize the relative importance of spatial/temporal variation at the high-latitude boundary between the magnetosphere and ionosphere in generating observed variability in the mid-latitudes. The knowledge gained will impact the development of future models by identifying any missing physics in the models as well as the spatial/temporal resolutions required to capture relevant processes. Improving modeling is critical to enabling space weather forecasting capabilities, and will enhance the infrastructure for research and education.
This project will address two fundamental questions: 1) What is the cause/effect relationship between high-latitude forcing on the neutral winds and the response of electron densities at mid-latitudes, especially during geomagnetic storm conditions? 2) What is the relationship between spatial/temporal variability within the high-latitude drivers and the variability observed within the mid-latitude neutral winds and ionospheric structure? Observations of mid-latitude thermospheric winds and temperatures made by the North American Thermosphere-Ionosphere Observation Network (NATION) of Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPI) will be coupled with time-dependent 3D electron density estimates from the Ionospheric Data Assimilation Four Dimensional (IDA4D) assimilative model. The source of the dynamics observed in the thermospheric neutral winds and electron density will be investigated through exercising an inversion algorithm (Estimating Model Parameters from Ionospheric Reverse Engineering; EMPIRE) developed to estimate the ionospheric drivers from three-dimensional, time-evolving distributions of ionospheric electron densities. The first-principles Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model (GITM) will also be used to elucidate the underlying physics responsible for the coupling. This study will contribute to the education and training of graduate students at the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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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.
This project is concerned about being able to model, measure or estimate neutral winds in the thermosphere (the upper atmosphere where satellites and the space shuttle are)
Because of how high the thermosphere is above the Earth, it is very hard to make direct measurements of the winds.
We can make them from satellites, but it is difficult, and does not provide global coverage
We can make them from the ground, but only at night (typically) and only at select sites since the instruments are expensive
The question this project asked: Can we make measurements of quantitites that are related to the winds, but we are able to make lots of observations, all over the world, all the time.
In particular, the quantity of interest is called the "electron density" and is simply the amount of electrons that have been stripped off their atoms in the thermosphere.
It is easy to make measurements of electron density because they effect all radio waves -- in particular the radio waves used for GPS positionin.
As we all know, GPS is everywhere now. On phones etc. So there are lots and lots of measurements.
We have a special software program called EMPIRE that takes in measurements of the electron density and predicts what the winds should be -- all over the globe, all the time.
You can think of our software being kind of like softwar that is used by weather people to predict hurricanes and such.
This project goal was to determine how well we are able to predict the winds by comparing them to driect measurements of the winds A second goal was to determine how much the winds vary in space and time
The application for society of interest is being able to predict the impacts of major space weather solar storms on community systems.
The outcomse were mixed:
We did a better job of predicting the measurements than pure models do. But not as accurately as we would like - or that the community needs for space weather predicions - so more research is necessary.
On the other hand we were able ot study the space time variability quite well, which will help future efforts.
Last Modified: 01/27/2020
Modified by: Gary Bust
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