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 […]
Category: Research Project
Research Projects
Hazards SEES: GIC Hazard Prediction: From the Solar Wind to Power System Impacts
Led by Dr. Thomas Overbye of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, this project is intended to improve the scientific understanding of the processes governing the impacts on our power distribution system of severe solar storms. The team is studying the relationship between solar wind drivers and magnetic field perturbations on the ground, developing improved […]
Imaging Earth’s Near-Space Environment for Better Understanding of Ionospheric Spatial Structuring
We operate a network of ground-based ionospheric imaging systems. Current locations include Hawaii, Tahiti, Chile, Brazil, and Morocco. These images provide detailed information on the spatial distribution of plasma in the ionosphere. Under the correct geophysical conditions, irregularities in the ionosphere, known as equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs), can form in the nighttime ionosphere. EPBs are […]
Vertical Winds: Possible Forcing and Influence on the Upper Atmosphere
The overall goal of this project is to improve the description of the dynamics in the upper atmosphere associated with vertical winds and to advance our understanding of the coupling between the ionosphere and thermosphere, which can significantly influence the variation of the neutral density. Specifically, the goals are: (1) Analyze FPI vertical wind observations […]
Observation and modeling of tsunami-generated gravity waves in the earth’s upper atmosphere
In the aftermath of the large Tohoku earthquake on 11 March 2011, a tsunami was launched across the Pacific Ocean. As the wave approached the islands of Hawaii, a wide-angle imaging system on the Haleakala Volcano operated by the University of Illinois in collaboration with Cornell University obtained the first-ever optical images of waves in the ionosphere/ thermosphere system […]
The North American Thermosphere-Ionosphere Observing Network
Introduction The North American Thermosphere Ionosphere Observing Network (NATION), comprising a new network of Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPIs), will be deployed in the Midwest of the United States of America. FPIs will initially be deployed to four sites to make coordinated measurements of the neutral winds and temperature in the Earth’s thermosphere using measurements of the 630-nm […]
The Remote Equatorial Nighttime Observatory of Ionospheric Regions (RENOIR)
Introduction The Remote Equatorial Nighttime Observatory of Ionospheric Regions (RENOIR) project is a joint collaboration between researchers from several institutions, including The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Clemson University, Cornell University, the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the Federal University at Campina Grande (UFCG). Through the construction and deployment of a RENOIR […]
Specification of Nighttime Ionospheric Irregularities: Occurrence, Spatial, and Dynamic Properties
In this project, we will develop automated analysis algorithms to extract pertinent spatio-temporal properties of ionospheric structures from an imaging database collected over the previous solar cycle. Effects on trans-ionospheric radiowave propagation will be studied using collocated radio (GPS) measurements. A database of structure occurrence, drift velocity, widths, and altitudes as a function of longitude, […]
Multi-Instrument Study to Investigate the Formation and Growth of Equatorial Irregularities
In this project, we will analyze data to be obtained from a distinctive suite of optical instruments located throughout South America in order to advance our understanding of the generation and development of Equatorial Spread-F (ESF), a plasma instability known for disrupting radio communications and GPS signals near Earth’s magnetic equator. These data include: The […]
CAREER: Multi-Technique Study of Ionospheric Irregularities at Mid-Latitudes
Introduction Traditionally, it was thought that the only highly active portions of the terrestrial ionosphere lay at high and low latitudes. In the polar region, the magnetic field is coupled to the magnetosphere and interstellar medium, allowing energy to flow directly into the ionosphere. This coupling results in many phenomena, most familiarly the aurora, and […]