Scott Palo - US grants

ATM9872814abs

The investigators will conduct two extended measurement campaigns involving meteor and medium frequency radars, a CCD spectrograph, and a lidar. The objective is to study systematic biases in horizontal wind measurements between the 30 and 40 MHz all-sky meteor radars, and the medium frequency radar at Platteville Atmospheric Observatory, and a sodium lidar located at Colorado State University. Also, by making coincident measurements, the investigators will validate a new technique for determining mesopause temperatures using meteor radar data. The instruments will be operated for as many nights as possible during two months, one in summer and one in winter. The comparison will be conducted using statistical techniques to provide an objective, quantitative determination of any systematic biases that exist in neutral wind and temperature measurements from the various techniques. The results will contribute to the CEDAR/TIMED program. CEDAR, which stands for Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions, is a global change program that combines theoretical modeling with ground-based measurements to study the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. TIMED, for Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics, is a NASA satellite program to study similar regions of the atmosphere. The joint CEDAR/TIMED program aims to coordinate ground-based and space-based observations to achieve better understanding of physical processes in the lower thermosphere and ionosphere.

Palo, Scott E
ATM-0000956

As part of this proposal both ground-based and TIDI observations from the TIMED satellite of the horizontal wind field will be used to estimate the spatial structure (latitude, longitude, and height) and temporal evolution of the semidiurnal tide, both migrating and non-migrating, on a monthly basis. The impetus for this effort is twofold. First, the semidiurnal tide has a significant influence on the structure of the MLT. However, little is understood about the underlying variability of the tide and the possible sources of this variability. One possible source of longitudinal variability is due to the non-migrating tidal components, which may result from zonally asymmetric heating in the lower-atmosphere, non-linear wave-wave interactions, or from in-situ sources in the MLT. To attack the problem of variability the longitudinal variability that results from the non-migrating tidal components must be separated from the source and propagation effects, such as the quasi-biennial oscillation, which can modify the structure of the migrating semidiurnal tide.

To accomplish these research goals this proposal will utilize data from 21 ground-based meteor and MF radar systems. These data will be collected and analyzed in conjunction with the TIMED TIDI measurements. As a result of this proposal ground-based mean and tidal (24, 12, and 8 hour) estimates will be provided every 4 days from each station. These tidal estimates will be analyzed in conjunction with the TIDI measurements to provide an estimate of the zonal mean circulation, the migrating and non-migrating semidiurnal tides in the MLT on a monthly basis. An effort will be made to integrate ground-based measurements from stations not included herein but which are also funded as part of the TIMED/CEDAR program to extend these results to other latitudes.

This research project will conduct long-term observations of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere of the atmosphere for changes in temperature. The temperature will be determined from wind and optical measurements taken with meteor radars at four sites in the Arctic: Barrow, Alaska, Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, and Dixon and Heiss Islands, Russia. The measurement program is timed to take advantage of a NASA satellite measurement program that will focus on the same part of the atmosphere. Because the introduction of greenhouse gases influences atmospheric temperature, the long-term measurements will be affected by anthropogenic as well as natural changes in temperature. The researchers will attempt to separate the two signals and use temperature changes caused by introduction of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to provide a warning that greenhouse gases are affecting atmospheric temperature. Observed temperature changes will be used to examine the dynamic coupling of the middle and lower atmospheres as well as the physical processes that affect changes in the thermal structure of the atmosphere. The long-term observations will be an important contribution to understanding of the long time-scale evolution of the middle/lower atmosphere at a time when the Arctic appears to be undergoing major changes in response to a climatic warming.

ATM0000957abs

The investigators will study the dynamics of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere over Antarctica using measurements from the TIMED instruments and a meteor radar to be installed at South Pole station. Specific science objectives include: the space-time decomposition of wave motions; delineation of the spatial climatology over Antarctica with emphasis on the structure of the polar vortex; dynamical response to energetic events; and interannual variability. The proposed meteor radar is a VHF system that will be able to measure the spatial structure and temporal evolution of the horizontal wind field over the South Pole. The investigators will also make use of existing ground-based radars at Davis, Syowa, Rothera, and Scott Base in the determination of the spatial climatology. Wind and temperature measurements to be made by NASA's TIMED satellite during orbits over the South Pole will provide opportunities for combined ground-based and space-based experiments and validation activities.

The atmospheric tides are global scale oscillations in the basic state of the Earths atmosphere (winds, temperature and density) that are forced in the lower-atmosphere and propagate vertically into the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. Over the past decade basic understanding of the migrating atmospheric tides has emerged, largely from an increase in the number of ground-based observatories across the globe making wind and temperature measurements of the mesosphere- and lower-thermosphere (MLT) roughly between 70 and 120km. The continuing increase in the availability of observational data from ground and space based instruments is providing atmospheric scientists with the opportunity to improve their theoretical understanding of the mechanisms that drive atmospheric tides. This is accomplished through a process that includes both numerical models and observational data. The basic approach for this research is to use the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) that has been under development at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. WACCM is a fully nonlinear, four-dimensional global circulation model of the atmosphere spanning from the surface to an altitude of 140km. Analysis of WACCM results will be compared with the global network of MLT observations, including those from the recently launched TIMED spacecraft, to validate the tidal and planetary wave structure simulated by the model. Once validated, the model will be utilized to estimate the affect of global scale planetary waves on the structure of the atmospheric tides.

The investigators will observe, model and study the spatial-temporal structure and variability of the semidiurnal tide in the middle atmosphere. The focus will be on the Arctic and Antarctic mesosphere and lower thermosphere horizontal wind and temperature fields. The mesosphere and lower thermosphere, at an altitude between 80 and 120km above the surface of the earth, is a highly dynamic region that couples the lower atmosphere (troposphere/stratosphere) with the upper atmosphere thermosphere/ionosphere). Of particular importance in this region are both the upward propagating thermally forced atmospheric tides and global scale planetary waves. Both of these phenomena transport heat and momentum from the lower atmosphere into the upper atmosphere. Studies in recent years have indicated that the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) mesosphere and lower thermosphere possess a rich spectrum of planetary waves that had previously gone undiscovered. These planetary waves can interact with the sun-synchronous migrating semidiurnal tide modifying its spatial and temporal structure while giving rise to the nonmigrating semidiurnal tide. Understanding the structure and variability of the semidiurnal tide is an important step to understanding the global heat and energy balance of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The data used for this project will include horizontal wind measurements from a global network of 30 ground-based meteor and medium frequency radars. Additionally, wind and temperature measurements from the NASA TIMED satellite will be combined with the radar data. It is expected, from previous observations, that planetary waves will play a significant role in the variability of the semidiurnal tide. For this reason the structure of the semidiurnal tide and the structure of the planetary waves will be estimated simultaneously. These estimates will be analyzed in conjunction with both linear mechanistic and global circulation models to aid in the interpretation of the observations and increase knowledge about the semidiurnal tide. As part of this effort a web based tool to ingest the radar data from the global network will be employed. Data submitted to the database will be processed and then disseminated via a website, the TIMED database and the CEDAR database. Such a database is required for this and future efforts that propose to make use of the global network of mesosphere and lower-thermosphere radar wind measurements.

Meteor radar systems, used to monitor horizontal winds in the middle atmosphere by analysis of specular reflections from meteoric ablation remnants, are upgraded to assimilate new digital receiver and multi-frequency transmitter technologies. In addition, lingering confusion about the veracity of the derived winds, stemming from proprietary analysis algorithms, is eradicated by establishment of unified transparent algorithms available for review. The design and construction of these new-technology meteor radars paves the way for low-cost unified networks of the radar systems, and broad spatial coverage of middle atmosphere dynamics between 80 km and 100 km. Undergraduate and graduate student participation in the project generates a new population of expert RF engineers and remote sensing radar operators. That population broadens the research impact from its Aeronomy core to surveillance, resource exploration, and security.

Funds are provided for the development, testing, and deployment of a low-cost laser profiling system that can be operated onboard small unpiloted aerial vehicles (UAVs), and that is capable of serving as a component of a widely distributed and long-term monitoring and observation program, such as may be established for the International Polar Year. As part of this development, data analyses sufficient to test the ability to extract basic sea-ice parameters, such as roughness and freeboard, from laser profiles flown over the Arctic sea ice near Barrow, Alaska will be included. Using basic analysis techniques such as comparisons of roughness with other data sets (MODIS ice products and satellite SAR and scatterometer imagery), these data should suffice to yield substantial insights into variations in ice conditions. While the focus of this effort is on improved understanding of sea ice, the proposed laser profiling system and analysis techniques are applicable to many other research uses, e.g. mapping changes in ice sheets and glaciers, vegetation canopy studies, monitoring shoreline change, and surveying ocean wave heights.

The mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), at an altitude between 80 and 120 km above the Earth's surface, is a highly dynamic region that couples the lower terrestrial atmosphere (troposphere and stratosphere) with the upper atmosphere near-Earth space environment (thermosphere and ionosphere). Of particular importance in this region are both the upward propagating thermally forced atmospheric tides and global scale planetary waves. Both of these phenomena transport heat and momentum from the lower atmosphere into the upper atmosphere. Studies in recent years have indicated that the Arctic and Antarctic MLT possess a rich spectrum waves and may be more sensitive to global change than the lower atmosphere. The primary goal of this research is to observe, quantify, model, and further understand the spatial-temporal structure and variability of the MLT circulation above Antarctica and its commonalities with the Arctic. A secondary goal is to quantify and understand the deposition of mass into the upper atmosphere through the ablation of meteors and the resulting effect on local and regional aeronomic processes. This includes the effect of meteor flux, temperature and dynamics on the seasonal distribution of sodium over the South Pole. Meteor radar was installed at the South Pole Amundsen-Scott station and has been running continuously since January 2002. A new sodium nightglow imager will be installed at the South Pole to infer the sodium abundance in the MLT. Observations from this instrument will be combined with the South Pole Fabry-Perot interferometer temperature measurements and the meteor radar wind and meteor flux measurements to improve our understanding of the sodium chemistry and dynamics. These observations will be interpreted using sophisticated numerical models and interpreted in conjunction with Arctic measurements along with current linear and nonlinear atmospheric models to advance the current understanding of processes important to the MLT region. This research also contributes to the training and education of the graduate and undergraduate students, a postdoc and early career tenure track faculty.

This project focuses on trying to identify the sources of the short-term day-to-day variability in the migrating diurnal tides, with a specific focus on nonlinear wave-wave interactions between the migrating diurnal tide and both the westward propagating Rossby-gravity two-day wave and with ultra fast Kelvin waves. The migrating diurnal tide is a dominant and persistent feature of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. It is forced in the troposphere through the absorption of solar radiation by water vapor and propagates vertically into the upper atmosphere. As the tide propagates vertically its structure is modified through interactions with the intervening mean wind field, planetary waves and dissipation. While observations clearly show significant day-to-day variations in the migrating diurnal tide, little modeling work has been conducted to date to understand the source and impact of these variations. The current hypothesis, to be tested in this project, is that the mechanism involves the nonlinear wave-wave interactions between the migrating diurnal tide and the global scale Rossby-gravity two day wave and the ultra fast Kelvin waves. This hypothesis will be investigated using the National Center for Atmospheric Research Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIME-GCM). The TIME-GCM is a fully nonlinear three-dimensional global circulation model with a domain spanning from 35 to 500 km. By conducting controlled numerical studies and modifying the lower-boundary of the model to include the two-day wave and ultra fast Kelvin wave the potential for nonlinear interaction between the tide and these waves will be explored. This research will result in an improved understanding of the potential for nonlinear wave-wave interactions in the atmosphere and the impact of these interactions on both the migrating diurnal tide and global scale waves, such as the westward propagating Rossby-gravity two-day wave and eastward propagating ultra fast Kelvin waves. Additionally, because the migrating diurnal tide can affect the lower-boundary of the thermosphere and day-to-day variations will impact the weather of the thermosphere/ionosphere system, results from this research will be of interest for space weather.

The objective of this three-year cross-disciplinary team effort is to build and operate a tiny, so-called CubeSat, spacecraft. The purpose of the 3U Cubesat carrying an energetic particle sensor is to address fundamental space weather science questions relating to the relationship between solar flares, energetic particles, and geomagnetic storms in the near Earth space environment. The particle instrument is the Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope integrated little experiment (REPTile). REPTile is designed to measure directional differential flux of energetic protons, 10-40 MeV, and electrons, 0.5 to >3 MeV. The instrument is a miniaturization of the Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope (REPT) currently being developed and built at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) for the NASA/Radiation Belt Storm Probe (RBSP) mission. Energetic protons and electrons coming from both the Sun during Solare Energetic Particle (SEP) events and the Earth's radiation belt will be measured. The energetic particle measurements will be used in conjunction with solar flare measurements from other spacecraft, e.g., NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment and current NOAA's GOES-Solar X-ray Imager, to investigate the correlations between flare parameters and SEP characteristics. The specific science objectives for the project are to investigate the relationships between solar energetic particles, flares, and coronal mass ejections, and to characterize the variations of the Earth's radiation belt electrons.

Space weather refers to conditions in space that can influence the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems. Understanding the relationships between SEPs observed at the ground and solar flares and CMEs, eventually leading to the prediction of SEP events, is a high priority space weather research goal, as is the full characterization of the variations of the Earth's radiation belt electrons. In addition, the development of the miniature REPTile instrument will facilitate future space weather research and monitoring conducted by constellations of small (cubesat-sized) spacecraft and demonstrate the usefulness of nano-satellites as space weather monitors.

The project will pursue scientific discovery while providing unique and inspiring educational opportunities. It relies on extensive undergraduate and graduate student involvement through all aspects of the mission. This is a collaborative effort between the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, which includes the integration of students, faculty, and professional engineers. The project is focused around a currently existing space hardware design course. The new, largely unproven technology involved in cubesat missions, inherently makes the project associated with significant risks. On the other hand, however, the project has tremendous potential to be transformational not only within its own research area but also for the larger field of space science and atmospheric research as well as within aerospace engineering and education.

Antarctic coastal polynas are, at the same time, sea-ice free sites and 'sea-ice factories'. They are open water surface locations where water mass transformation and densification occurs, and where atmospheric exchanges with the deep ocean circulation are established. Various models of the formation and persistence of these productive and diverse ocean ecosystems are hampered by the relative lack of in situ meteorological and physical oceanographic observations, especially during the inhospitable conditions of their formation and activity during the polar night.


Characterization of the lower atmosphere properties, air-sea surface heat fluxes and corresponding ocean hydrographic profiles of Antarctic polynyas, especially during strong wind events, is sought for a more detailed understanding of the role of polynyas in the production of latent-heat type sea ice and the formation, through sea ice brine rejection, of dense ocean bottom waters

A key technological innovation in this work continues to be the use of instrumented unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), to enable the persistent and safe observation of the interaction of light and strong katabatic wind fields, and mesocale cyclones in the Terra Nova Bay (Victoria Land, Antarctica) polynya waters during late winter and early summer time frames.

This project by a consortium of six institutions describes an initiative, named QBUS, to participate in the international QB50 cubesat network.

QB50 is an international network of 50 CubeSats for multi-point, in-situ measurements in the largely unexplored lower thermosphere. Led by the Von Karman Institute (VKI) of Belgium, the QB50 project is predominantly funded from a FP7 Grant by the European Union (EU) and includes international participation from more than 30 countries. The idea behind the project is that the EU grant will supply the science instruments and a joint launch for all 50 satellites, which will be provided by participating teams that will secure their own independent funding for CubSat production and ground station operation. The plan for QB50 is that all 50 CubeSats will be launched together in 2015-2016 on a Shtil-2.1 from Murmansk in northern Russia into a circular orbit at 320 km altitude, inclination 79º. Due to atmospheric drag, the orbits will decay and the CubeSats will be able to explore all layers of the lower thermosphere without the need for on-board propulsion, down to 90 or 100 km, depending on the quality of their thermal design. It is expected that the network will spread around the Earth (in a single orbit plane) providing a range of spacing and temporal revisit times. The lifetime of the CubeSats from deployment until atmosphere re-entry will be less than three months. Each QB50 satellite is required to carry one of three standardized sensor packages: a plasma package, a neutral package or a composition package. The plasma package is based on a miniaturized Langmuir probe providing plasma density, the neutral package measures the atomic and molecular Oxygen density, and the composition package is an Ion-Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS).

The partners of the QBUS consortium (3 research universities, one Hispanic minority undergraduate university, and 2 national laboratories) all have significant CubeSat and Ionosphere-Thermosphere (IT) science experience. The QBUS team will build 4 identical 2U CubeSat flight units based on a joint design, with participating members providing various components of the usual satellite functions (attitude determination and control, uplink and downlink telecommunications, power subsystem including a battery and body-mounted solar cells, on-board data handling and storage by a CPU). Of the three available options, the QBUS team has been approved by the QB50 project to fly the INMS sensor built by the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL). This instrument will measure atmospheric composition via abundance determination of neutral atomic O, molecular O2 and N2. QBUS as part of QB50 offers a unique opportunity for dense and distributed in-situ measurements of the most poorly characterized state parameter: neutral and ion composition from 100-320 km. The project will use measurements from QBUS, QB50, and complementary ground-based observations to characterize and understand how compositional changes are created by energy inputs, propagated and ultimately equilibrated within the IT system. Specifically, it will be possible, for the first time, to quantify the effect of composition changes (primarily O/N2) on electron density changes across temporal scales (minutes to months) and spatial scales (10-s km to global).

The project constitutes a particularly creative and cost-effective approach. The multi-university and national Laboratory solution proposed entails partners sharing and leading by their specific strengths. Efficiency of numbers and division of labor by experience will result in tremendous program costs savings. In addition, QBUS constitutes substantial leveraging on the international QB50 project. As a result of U.S. funded participation in QB50 the entire U.S. science community will have the opportunity to access the full constellation dataset from QB50. The QB50/QBUS program also serves as impetus for unprecedented coordination between NSF-sponsored facilities and instruments for in-situ and ground based campaigns to enable IT discovery. The project has tremendous educational impacts. It will directly support the training of the next generation of instrument engineers and geoscientists at 4 universities (one of which is minority serving) in the consortium, expecting to provide around 200 students hands-on involvement in the development, testing and operations of the QBUS CubeSats. It will facilitate additional student participation across the United States and internationally through use of derived data products from the entire QB50 mission.

Part 1

Recently, an improvement to the well-established Traditional Specular Meteor Radar technique has been proposed with remarkable potential for both new and improved geophysical science data. The Multistatic Specular Meteor Radar (MSMR) utilizes a networked array of receivers distributed over a geographic area. Specular meteor trail scatter originating from a single transmitter is observed at the various geographic locations enabling a dramatic increase in both the temporal and spatial resolution of the measured wind field. The activities proposed in this project include a workshop focused on the potential of this emerging technique for conducting new scientific studies on topics of meteor radar hardware, data analysis, atmospheric dynamics and meteor and plasma physics to discuss and vet the most promising MSMR science motivations and develop a plan for moving the technique forward.
Until recently it was not possible to geographically separate the transmit and receive systems because very accurate (1 part in 100 million) frequency accuracy is required to measure the wind. With the advent of precision GPS oscillators it is now possible to geographically separate the receiver and transmitter and still have the capability to determine the winds. This advance has enabled the evolution of the Multistatic Specular Meteor Radar technique, which utilizes a single transmitter and an array of receivers distributed over a large geographic area. The data collected from this array provides a diversity of measurements that are not possible with the classical approach. As such this new measurement technique will create an opportunity to enable new scientific measurements and push the boundary of scientific discovery.

Part 2

Hundreds of thousands of meteoroids enter the upper atmosphere each day. Travelling at 7km/s or faster nearly all of these meteoroids ablate in the lower thermosphere leaving a dense trail of electrons and ions for a short period of time. Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves can be scattered from these plasma trails to probe the structure of the lower thermosphere. Parameters such as the horizontal wind velocity and the ambipolar diffusion coefficient can be extracted from these observations. The classical approach for observing meteors has been to use a monostatic meteor radar with a co-located transmitter and receiver. Recently improvements to the well-established traditional specular meteor radar technique has been proposed with remarkable potential for both new and improved geophysical science data. The Multistatic Specular Meteor Radar (MSMR) technique utilizes a networked array of receivers distributed over a geographic area of 40,000 square kilometers. Specular meteor trail scatter illuminated from an from single transmitter can be observed at various receiver locations enabling a dramatic increase in both the temporal and spatial resolution of the measured geophysical parameters.
The proposed workshop will include a panel of experts on topics of meteor radar hardware, data analysis, atmospheric dynamics and meteor and plasma physics to discuss and vet the most promising MSMR science motivations and develop a plan for moving the technique forward. The second part of the project includes analysis of data from a proof-of-concept campaign using a software controled radar developed under the PI's NSF-CAREER grant. The collaboration will be established between the radar remote sensing groups at the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB) and the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) in Kuhlungsborn, Germany.

Variability is a major characteristic of the mesosphere lower thermosphere (MLT) system (the region between 80 to 120 km), and the sources of this variability are not very well understood. There are two types of atmospheric wave activity seen in this region: short wavelength waves called gravity waves (GW) and long wavelength waves called tidal waves. The science focus of this award work plan is to achieve improved understanding of the possible physical mechanisms that generate short-term tidal wave variability in the MLT region. Particular emphasis in this award research would be placed upon understanding the role of gravity wave variability producing the resulting variations in tidal propagation and tidal wave dissipation characteristics. The expected broader impacts on the space weather community along with the implications for space weather research and educational outreach including K12 and under-represented groups are excellent, especially because the research objective of delineating and understanding short-term tidal variability represents information that is much needed for predictive space weather modelers, an important task for a technological society, as emphasized in the Decadal Survey. The funded research would support a graduate student at Colorado University, Boulder, and second, the lead scientist has described a sound plan to enhance K-12 STEM education with the participation of under-represented groups through the University of Colorado (Boulder) BOLD program, which provides summer courses for high school students. The Principal Investigator has a successful history of mentoring students through similar programs.

This award would analyze and quantify the short-term variability of the diurnal migrating tide in the MLT region using observations derived from the combined TIMED (Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics) and Aura/NASA satellite databases combined with measurements of the observed ionospheric response determined from COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate) data. Two questions would be addressed in this study: the first being the identification of the physical mechanisms that drive the short-term day-to-day variability of the migrating diurnal tide. The second question is concerned with the overall impact that the day-to-day variability of the migrating diurnal tide has upon the mesosphere-thermosphere-ionosphere system. These observational diagnostics would be supported by meteor radar winds that are in the CEDAR database.

The Arctic and Antarctic are unique for the upper atmospheric research as these polar regions affect significantly the dynamics of planetary atmospheric circulations. Like the oceans, Earth's atmosphere experiences planet-wide gravitational tides caused by the Moon. In addition to planetary atmospheric waves of various scale caused by Earth's rotation, the largest amplitude of upward-propagating, thermally forced atmospheric tides are generated by the periodic heating of the atmosphere by the Sun ? the atmosphere is heated during the day and not heated at night. All of these phenomena transport heat and momentum from the lower atmosphere into the upper atmosphere. Understanding the coupling of these waves between both the Northern and Southern hemispheres and from the lower atmosphere to the ionosphere and upper atmosphere will lead to the key processes responsible for transporting energy throughout the entire atmosphere-ionosphere system.

This award will let scientists investigate the spatial-temporal structure and variability of the Antarctic mesosphere and lower thermosphere circulation at high latitudes. For this goal, a state-of-the-art meteor radar system will be installed at McMurdo Station, which then will provide hourly mean velocities of the zonal and meridional neutral winds between 80 and 100 km altitude operating continuously 24/7 through the year. Two existing models, the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) and the Global-Scale Wave Model (GSWM), will be employed to analyze radar observations in the global context. The collected data will be published almost instantaneously at a project website and provided to the NSF-supported CEDAR/Madrigal database and the Antarctic Master Directory. The project supports and trains one graduate and one undergraduate students; a young professional research assistant will also be involved in this effort. To broaden participation of underrepresented groups, students from the University of Colorado Summer Multicultural Access to Research and Training program will be engaged to locate qualified students to participate on this project.

CubeSats are miniaturized, low-weight, low-cost satellites. Due to these properties, constellations of 10s-100s of CubeSats with specialized instruments for studying the space environment provide a new exciting opportunity to understand and predict space weather. The Space Weather Atmospheric Reconfigurable Multiscale Experiment (SWARM-EX) project provides an important step in the advancement of designing and building CubeSat constellations for space weather. SWARM-EX will consist of three identical CubeSats with novel technologies for radio communications between satellites, onboard propulsion, advanced data downlinks, and autonomous operations within the constellation. Each satellite will measure ionized and neutral gases in the Earth's upper atmosphere, studying structures seen near the equator. The SWARM-EX mission uniquely fosters opportunities for STEM education and enables a platform for public outreach. SWARM-EX will establish the first Intercollegiate CubeSat Mentoring Program - partnering institutions that have established CubeSat programs with new programs to create long-term, project-based learning environments across the nation. Teaching, training, and learning will also be advanced through the inclusion of multiple graduate students, and undergraduate students from the six geographically distributed university programs involved in SWARM-EX. This project resulted from the Ideas Lab: Cross-cutting Initiative in CubeSat Innovations, an interdisciplinary program supported by Geosciences, Engineering, and Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorates.

SWARM-EX is a bold step towards addressing outstanding aeronomy questions achieved through a global constellation of CubeSat swarms making in-situ ionospheric and thermospheric measurements between 300 and 600 km altitude. The CubeSats in each swarm will range in separation from 1 to 1000 km and this separation will be controlled by a combination of differential drag and onboard propulsion. A pathfinder mission, supported by this project will use 3 identical CubeSats to demonstrate the SWARM-EX key technologies and address scientific questions related to the evolution of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) and equatorial thermospheric anomaly (ETA). The specific aeronomy questions are 1) How persistent and correlated are the plasma density and neutral oxygen in EIA and ETA features?; 2) Over what timescales, less than 90 minutes, do we observe changes in EIA/ETA properties due to non-migrating tides and geomagnetic activity? These CubeSats will demonstrate novel technology including RF cross-links, propulsion, CDMA X-band data downlinks and on-board autonomy. Additionally, each CubeSat will include an atomic oxygen sensor and Langmuir Probe thus making the measurements required to answer the proposed science questions.

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.

This project supported by the Geospace Facility's Distributed Arrays of Small Instruments (DASI) will utilizes observations of meteors to measure the winds in the upper atmosphere. Tons of mass enters the atmosphere daily in the form of meteroids. Observations of meteor with radar can be used to infer properties of very high altitude winds in the atmosphere. Characterization of these winds is very important to understanding the dynamics of our atmosphere and how it responds to or creates space weather events, which can impacts radio communications, for instance. This project is to develop and deploy a novel new technology for detecting meteors using a system of multiple antennas and multiple receivers. Typically, a transmit - receive system consists of a single transmitter and a single or multiple receivers. The novel innovation here is the ability to deploy low cost antenna. The data from the multiple in - multiple out (MIMO) system will measure 3D data in the very complex region of the atmosphere. This team is led by an early career scientist and includes mentoring for graduate and undergraduate students who will participate in outreach for deployment sites and participation in research.

Winds in the upper atmosphere, at the edge of space, are hard to measure routinely because in situ observations are limited to rocket flights (too high for aircraft and too low for stable satellites) and current remote sensing techniques only provide sparse, local estimates. Models for predicting the dynamics of the upper atmosphere often do not agree with each other or with actual observations because there are not enough measurements to inform and constrain model development. Just as investment in observational infrastructure has dramatically improved the prediction capabilities of lower atmospheric weather models, so too could the development and deployment of a continental-scale meteor radar network dramatically improve modeling and physics-based understanding of the upper atmosphere. The work will take the first step in developing such a large scale network by addressing the outstanding technical challenges which include system miniaturization, autonomous operation, low power draw, and cost-effective scaling for production. Testing and deployment will take place near the Rocky Mountains with a network consisting of two transmit array sites, one receive array site, and ten single-receiver sites providing observational coverage in a region spanning ~90,000 square kilometers. The work will encompass: hardware engineering, to optimize system design and produce a remote-deployable integrated receiver unit; software engineering, to create open source tools for radar operations, meteor detection and processing, and wind field estimation; and scientific analysis, to study the upper atmosphere in the Rocky Mountain region and measure the lower thermospheric wind field from a new mesoscale perspective.

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.

This award is a planning grant for the Spectrum Innovation Initiative: National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research (SII-Center). The focus of a spectrum research SII-Center goes beyond 5G, IoT, and other existing or forthcoming systems and technologies to chart out a trajectory to ensure United States leadership in future wireless technologies, systems, and applications in science and engineering through the efficient use and sharing of the radio spectrum. Over the past four decades, worldwide growth of wireless systems has provided tremendous societal benefit, enabling increased digital connectivity, telemedicine, social media, improved weather forecasting and more. It has also put significant and competing demands on many parts of the radio spectrum. To meet these challenges, this project supports the Wireless Innovation and Spectrum Evolution (WISE); which convenes former members of the Senior Executive Service in the FCC and NTIA and university faculty from the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of California San Diego, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. The WISE group will develop a research agenda and partnerships through workshops and discussions. Students will be supported to participate in these workshops and to develop spectrum science modules for K-12 students.

Through the center development process, stakeholders from academia, the federal government, and industry will be engaged to identify key technology, policies and workforce challenges to be addressed by the center. Six core research focus areas will include: Spectrum Efficiency and Coexistence; Next Generation Radio Devices; Spectrum Science; Modeling and Measurement; Wireless Systems; and Policy, Economics and Privacy. The process of bringing researchers, policy makers, and key stakeholders will result in the development of a vision and road map for an integrated and successful Wireless Innovation and Spectrum Evolution Center.

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.

The worldwide growth of wireless communication, navigation, and telemetry has provided immense societal benefits including mobile broadband data, Internet of Things, mobile healthcare, and intelligent transportation systems. This award is a grant to establish a Spectrum Innovation Initiative: National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research (SII-Center) to ensure United States leadership in future wireless technologies, systems, and applications in science and engineering through the efficient use and sharing of the radio spectrum. An SII-Center will promote transformative use and management of the electromagnetic spectrum, charting a trajectory to ensure United States leadership in future wireless technologies, systems, and applications in science and engineering through the efficient use and sharing of the radio spectrum. An SII-Center will also educate and develop an agile workforce needed to support industries of the future which rely heavily on wireless technologies.

This award funds the establishment of the first national center for wireless spectrum research, SpectrumX. The vision for SpectrumX is to be an inclusive multidisciplinary and increasingly interdisciplinary center that applies convergence research and team science to promote coexistence among disparate use cases in the radio spectrum, particularly including “public good” use cases for science and defense. In particular, SpectrumX will pursue its initial research strategy in scientific receiver hardware with interference measurement and mitigation capabilities; instrumentation of the radio spectrum in terms of advanced sensing networks; collecting and sharing accurate regulatory, usage, and economic data; flexible use rights that align incentives with efficient outcomes; and distributed, data-rich, and cloud-ready system designs for more efficient spectrum management and utilization. The project team is led by the University of Notre Dame, bringing together broad and synergistic research capabilities from a team of 41 founding researchers and staff from 27 universities, including 14 minority-serving or majority non-white institutions, and partnerships across industry, government, and academia. The Center will be an information and innovation hub connecting stakeholders. SpectrumX has a Broadening Participation plan aimed to increase awareness of cultural competence for all center participants to ensure that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are woven into the core of the Center’s values and culture. SpectrumX will develop spectrum-related curriculum for Grade 6 through master’s students and has an Education and Workforce Development Plan to offer flexible pathways for researchers and students from diverse backgrounds, disciplines, and levels of maturity to engage in spectrum innovation.

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.