NSF Org:	AGS Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences
Recipient:	NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Initial Amendment Date:	August 9, 2022
Latest Amendment Date:	September 7, 2022
Award Number:	2215857
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Tai-Yin Huang thuang@nsf.gov  (703)292-4943 AGS  Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences GEO  Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date:	October 15, 2022
End Date:	September 30, 2025 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$587,288.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$587,288.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2022 = $587,288.00
History of Investigator:	John Meriwether (Principal Investigator) john.w.meriwether@njit.edu Andrew Gerrard (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	New Jersey Institute of Technology 323 DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD NEWARK NJ  US  07102-1824 (973)596-5275
Sponsor Congressional District:	10
Primary Place of Performance:	New Jersey Institute of Technology University Heights Newark NJ  US  07102-1982
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	10
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	SGBMHQ7VXNH5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	Major Research Instrumentation, AERONOMY
Primary Program Source:	01002223DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):	1189, 4444
Program Element Code(s):	118900, 152100
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.050, 47.083

ABSTRACT

Understanding and predicting thermospheric winds and temperatures during all conditions of space weather activity is important in the determination of satellite drag. The system proposed herein will yield unprecedented measurements of winds and temperatures beyond that which are currently available, leading to transformational changes in the understanding of not only satellite drag, but of a myriad of outstanding questions in the space sciences. The wind measurements have societal significance as they are important for space weather research and global circulation models to understand and predict space weather. Deployment, operation, and analysis of the data from this proposed system will enable undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate opportunities in contemporary STEM topics, ranging from instrumentation advancement to Big Data and beyond. The project has good potential for high impact.

The project aims to measure winds and temperature in the thermosphere through an acquisition of a Fabry-Perot interferometer with high sensitivity that will enable the measurements of very weak airglow emissions in the MLT region. Large thermospheric vertical winds are inconsistent with what the application of the mass continuity equation would predict using the horizontal divergence of the observed wind field. The measurements needed to resolve the discrepancy are nonexistent, thus highlighting the compelling need for advancement in the current remote sensing technologies. The observing system will yield unprecedented measurements of winds and temperatures beyond that which are currently available, leading to transformational changes in the space sciences. The added benefit is the portability of the Fabry-Perot system thus enabling collaborative studies.

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.

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