| NSF Org: |
AGS Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | April 28, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | April 12, 2017 |
| Award Number: | 1524667 |
| Award Instrument: | Fellowship Award |
| Program Manager: |
Carrie E. Black
cblack@nsf.gov (703)292-2426 AGS Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | April 1, 2016 |
| End Date: | March 31, 2018 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $86,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $172,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2017 = $86,000.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
Blacksburg VA US 24060-2564 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Washington DC US 20002-5800 |
| 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): |
MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS, Postdoctoral Fellowships |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001718DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| 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): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
The solar wind, a continuous stream of solar plasma and magnetic fields blowing past the Earth, generates an electric field and causes a large-scale circulation of plasma within the magnetosphere. Earth's magnetic field lines are "frozen" into the plasma and thus are entrained in this convection. Of particular interest, the feet of these convecting magnetic field lines thread the ionosphere (a layer of charged particles in the Earth's upper atmosphere) at high latitudes and set the ionospheric plasma into motion as well, forming patterns of convection that change as the solar wind changes. At lower latitudes the ionospheric plasma co-rotates with the Earth. Disturbances in the solar wind associated with stormy space weather strengthen the convection in the magnetosphere, which has the effect of expanding the convection pattern in the ionosphere equatorward into regions where previously the ionospheric plasma was co-rotating. This project aims at improving knowledge of the portion of the expanded convection pattern in the mid-latitude region, where observations have previously been sparse, using a set of newly built radars. This is crucial to understanding space storms and their effects at Earth. The improved convection patterns from this project will enable a broad spectrum of new research. This geoscience postdoctoral fellowship will support the further training of an early-career scientist. It will also ultimately result in more accurate space weather models of value to society.
To accomplish its goals, this project will use the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN), which is a primary tool for constructing the high-latitude convection pattern and its variability. Recently SuperDARN expanded its coverage in the northern hemisphere by adding nine mid-latitude radars and three polar cap radars to better resolve these sections of the convection pattern. The work will use seven years of SuperDARN data from 2008 through 2014 in combination with solar wind observations from the OMNI 2 database to produce an expanded and improved model of the high-latitude convection pattern as it responds to solar wind drivers.
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.
Many critical technologies relied upon by both commercial and military users around the world are directly impacted by events occurring in the Earth’s ionosphere. Strong geomagnetic storms are responsible for causing ionospheric clutter in over-the-horizon radar systems; scintillations and their associated errors in GPS signals; and induced electrical currents in power distribution networks. The objectives of this proposal are to develop a new model capable of fully imaging the expansion of convection to midlatitudes and to increase our understanding of plasma instability processes in this region. Improved empirical knowledge of the full ionospheric convection pattern at midlatitudes and in the polar cap can be used to verify the accuracy of space weather models and better predict the impact of geomagnetic activity on space systems.
With guidance from the project mentor (Dr. Simon Shepherd at Dartmouth College), a new statistical model of ionospheric convection (TS18) was derived using line?of?sight velocity measurements from the full array of mid?latitude, high?latitude, and polar Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radars in the Northern Hemisphere for the years 2010–2016. This new model has been implemented in the publicly avilable SuperDARN data analysis and processing software known as the Radar Software Toolkit (RST) and is operating in real-time on the homepage of the Dartmouth SuperDARN website. This project has also provided opportunities for training and professional development through visits to and invited seminars at other SuperDARN institutions in the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as presentations at domestic space science conferences.
Last Modified: 06/29/2018
Modified by: Evan G Thomas
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