Jeffrey P. Thayer - US grants

The investigators will conduct a five-year research program to develop a lidar sensor for the Arctic using state-of-the-art devices and a novel Internet-based data transport system to enable advancements in arctic atmospheric science. In particular, the lidar development will involve sensitive photon-counting detectors including a new infrared photon detector, a unique dual-polarized laser transmitter, and novel timing schemes to make Rayleigh-Mie-Raman (RMR) measurements from 5 to 90 km in altitude. Analysis of the RMR lidar measurements will provide unique vertical profiles of temperature and aerosol backscatter strength, extinction, shape and size from the arctic troposphere through the mesosphere with a vertical resolution of tens of meters and a temporal resolution of tens of minutes. These observations will be applicable to studies of polar stratospheric clouds, aerosols, and the vertical thermal structure of the winter arctic stratosphere. Remote operations will allow more event-driven operations, such as during stratospheric warming events, and, in general, more observing opportunities. The ultimate objective of the data transport system will be to make the lidar system accessible from remote locations and pave the way for the development of fully autonomous lidar systems. This capability would provide greater opportunity for lidar deployments in remote arctic locations with limited infrastructure. The observations will contribute to a distributed network of temperatures and aerosol measurements to support the Network for Detection of Stratospheric Change. The project will involve a graduate student, who will be trained in lidar technologies and stratospheric dynamics, and the data acquired will be rapidly and broadly disseminated for use by other researchers. Not only will the measurements and scientific results contribute to community-wide issues, but they will also be useful for calibration and validation of current and future spacecraft missions designed to observe middle atmosphere temperatures and aerosols.

The investigators will study E-region electrodynamics at high latitudes using the Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR) systems in Alaska and Resolute Bay. The research will form the foundation for a PhD thesis by a University of Colorado aerospace engineering graduate student. The objective is to exploit the new AMISR radar system to provide height-resolved observations of the electrodynamic properties of the E-region, including electron density, ion motion, current density, Joule heating rates and neutral winds. The unique capabilities of the AMISR system will also help resolve spatial-temporal ambiguities that presently limit these types of studies. The research will focus on two specific science questions: (1) At what altitude does high-latitude ion motion perpendicular to the magnetic field begin to deviate from the convection direction, and how do the ions behave below this altitude, and (2) Can we learn more about upper E region neutral winds using a novel approach to incoherent scatter radar measurements. The study involves the determination of vector velocity fields from E and F region line-of-sight AMISR measurements. These velocity fields will be used to estimate E-region electrodynamic parameters, including the neutral wind. The research will promote teaching, training and learning, and will provide the opportunity for the advancement of a woman engineer/scientist. The techniques will be incorporated into the curriculum of a graduate course in Radar and Remote Sensing. Data acquired will be rapidly and broadly disseminated and new peer-reviewed research will be published that will enhance scientific understanding of the polar E region ionosphere. Societal benefits will result from improvements in the ability to specify and predict space weather. The observational techniques developed for AMISR will be applied to future rocket launches from Poker Flat, Alaska.

This is a collaborative award to advance mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) science by developing and operating advanced upper atmospheric lidar instruments. The Consortium of Resonance and Rayleigh Lidars (CRRL) includes six universities: the University of Colorado (CU) hosts the CRRL director and the unique CRRL Technology Center (CTC); the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in collaboration with Embry-Riddle University operates the Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO) in Cerro Pachón, Chile; Northwest Research Associates/CoRA Division contributes to the operation of the Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research (ALOMAR) in Norway; and Utah State University (USU) in collaboration with Colorado State University (CSU) operates a sodium lidar in Utah. The increasing number of middle and upper atmosphere observing stations around the globe, and the recent increase in data assimilation schemes for numerical models, indicates the growing movement in the community to address the middle and upper atmosphere as a global system requiring studies spanning a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The Na resonance wind and temperature (Na W/T) lidar technique, central to CRRL, provides fundamental measurements of the MLT region at temporal and spatial resolutions that are difficult to achieve by other means. As a result, Na W/T lidars have yielded fundamental advances in our understanding of MLT dynamics, thermal structure, chemistry, and microphysics that were previously impossible. They are, therefore, key instruments for achieving the community goals of whole atmosphere modeling and system science studies. The effort will consolidate and advance middle and upper atmosphere lidar systems leading to 1) improved coordination, performance, and scientific productivity of the three Na lidars currently at low, middle, and high latitudes, 2) more rapid and more efficient advances in lidar technology developments, implementations, and transfers, 3) active education and training, guest investigator, and outreach programs to educate future researchers and broaden the lidar user base in the upper atmosphere community, and 4) a coordinated vision and plan for the upper atmosphere lidar community. The expanded measurement capabilities and community involvement anticipated within RRL, especially the ability of the Na lidars to measure both temperature and winds day and night, and the ability of the lidars to support and enhance correlative instrumentation at key sites, will ensure the maximum scientific benefit and the broadest possible applications of these systems. Finally, CTC technology developments will strive to ensure the most efficient and comprehensive utilization of advancing technologies to the benefit of lidar research within and outside of CRRL. The CRRL activities will have a broad impact 1) by enhancing the infrastructure for middle and upper atmosphere research and 2) by defining a new means of educating, managing and coordinating correlative research activities. The greatest research benefits will occur through comprehensive and coordinated studies that merge multiple data sets and diverse scientific interests which will enable the greatest scientific return on the research investment. CTC technology developments will also benefit from, and be of benefit to, technology developments currently outside the Aeronomy community. The anticipated CRRL education, training, and guest investigator programs will ensure a group of talented and enthusiastic users to pursue lidar developments and applications in the future.

The investigators will develop an advanced, mobile, iron-resonance/Rayleigh/Mie Doppler lidar system to vertically profile temperatures, winds, meteoric iron densities, clouds and aerosols throughout the stratosphere, mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The proposed lidar integrates the state-of-the-art technologies of lasers, laser spectroscopy, electro-optics, and sensors into a single system to produce a powerful and robust tool with unmatched measurement capabilities. The revolutionary lidar design and the readiness of alexandrite laser technology make the Fe Doppler lidar superb in the following ways: it will be able to obtain simultaneous measurements of temperature (30-110 km), wind (80-110 km), Fe density (75-115 km), and aerosol (10-100 km) in both day and night with high accuracy, high precision, and high spatial and temporal resolutions. The lidar is robust and compact for groundbased mobile deployment. It is containerized to move via a truck or ship to field locations of interest with extensive geographic coverage. Chirp-free and dither-free frequency locking and saturation-free Fe layer resonance results in a bias-free estimate of winds and temperatures, which is revolutionary for Doppler lidar. High energy and the UV wavelength employed by the lidar leads to a much more sensitive estimate of temperature and aerosol backscatter in stratosphere and mesosphere than determined through Na and K lidars. The 80-cm multi-telescope receiver, double-etalon filter for high rejection of solar background, and a state-of-the-art diagnostic system ensures accurate measurements in both day and night. The resulting breakthrough in lidar technology will push the atmospheric observations to a completely new level and the mobility of the system will enable new scientific endeavors. The lidar will become a community tool, available to all scientific users. Partnerships with private sector companies will result in new products with wide scientific use and commercial impact. Innovative technologies developed in this project will lead to new applications of advanced laser and remote sensing technology in the detection of biological and chemical agents, in nano-scale tube engineering, and in semi-conductor inspection. Exceptional opportunities for graduate and undergraduate education and training will arise from this project. A large number of scientists have strong interests in the instrument development, spin-off applications, and the data collected by this lidar. Many of these scientists will educate and train graduate and undergraduate students for whom this instrument and its data will be essential. Minority and under-represented students will be recruited through the Woman in Engineering Office (WIE) and Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). This project will support the research of a female scientist (PI).

This project will support the activities of the Coupling, Energetics and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) Science Steering Committee (CSSC). The CSSC is composed of representatives from the USA and International atmospheric sciences communities, appointed by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and provides a formal mechanism for communication between the community and the NSF's Aeronomy and Upper Atmospheric Facilities Programs. The CSSC helps set the direction and agenda for the CEDAR program and coordinates the program's activities with other national and international programs. The nominal activities of the CSSC are: (1) to convene the annual CEDAR Workshop each June (2) to meet at NSF each fall for planning purposes; and (3) to publish the CEDAR Post, the community's newsletter, twice each year. Specific tasks over the next two years include: (1) developing a document that emphasizes the system science approach to geospace research. This document will also outline an approach for the DASI initiative whose complementary systems engineering approach will benefit the CEDAR program in the coming decades; (2) continuing implementation of the CEDAR Phase III program, particularly in regard to the four main science areas of Coupling to Lower Altitudes, Solar-Terrestrial Interactions, Polar Aeronomy, and Long-Term Variations. To accomplish the goals of these initiatives, continued emphasis must be placed on CEDAR collaborations with new satellite missions, such as THEMIS, AIM, C/NOFS, the Upper Atmospheric Facilities, such as AMISR, new modeling and data assimilation schemes, and the development of chains and clusters" concept with a strong emphasis on real-time observations that provide synergism with the NSWP; (3) developing community coordination for the new Upper Atmospheric Facilities AMISR radars. Although the AMISR instrumentation utilizes the incoherent scatter of radio waves, it has capabilities beyond those of the present-day Upper Atmospheric Facilities ISRs. These capabilities are based upon electronic methods of beam pointing rather than mechanical, upon the fact that the AMISR can point in different directions simultaneously, and its frequency agility. The CSSC will interact with the Aeronomy community to develop new ISR modes that take advantage of the AMISR capability. Central to the CEDAR campaigns and observations is the CEDAR database archive which is being considered as a focus for the new virtual solar terrestrial observatory (VSTO), hence the CSSC will be required to oversee these developments on behalf of the community.

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

This project aims to make the first airborne observations of polar mesospheric clouds. A campaign is proposed from approximately 25 June to 21 July, coinciding with the period when the occurrence frequency of polar mesospheric clouds is expected to peak. About 25 flights of a Mooney M20K research aircraft will be flown from High Level Airport in Alberta, Canada, at altitudes near 23,000 feet with observations commencing approximately 90 minutes before midnight. The aircraft instrumentation consists of CCD imagers operating at visible and IR wavelengths that will obtain observations over many hours and over an extensive region. Since the aircraft will fly above the tropospheric weather, the imagers will be able to obtain uninterrupted sequential imaging of polar mesospheric clouds over long time periods, providing a unique series of images that will capture the temporal evolution of the clouds. During each flight, the exact overpass time of the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite will be predicted and, if possible, common volume observations will be taken with the airborne imagers and with the downward-looking CIPS camera on AIM. The complementary nature of airborne measurements, providing continuous imaging of polar mesosphere cloud, with satellite measurements, providing extensive polar coverage, would enable the first detailed study of the evolution of the clouds. The timing of the campaign is especially noteworthy in term of the current solar conditions, which features the deepest solar minimum in recent history; an exceptionally cold summer mesosphere is expected. The cloud occurrence frequency is a maximum near the end of solar minimum, during which the clouds often extend to lower latitudes. Some information on the variability of polar mesospheric clouds with season may also be obtained, since the frequency of observation is highly dependent on the day of the season relative to the summer solstice. There are several broader impacts to the project. The research is central to the completion of a student Ph.D. thesis. The coordinated observations made with the NASA AIM satellite will lead to improved delineation of the 2-D polar mesospheric cloud structure and behavior. Polar mesospheric clouds have been hypothesized to be sensitive to global change in the upper atmosphere and the observations obtained would provide a unique complement to the existing cloud database. The project represents a proof-of-concept experiment which may benefit the design and execution of future campaigns.

The research is to study vertical coupling in the wintertime polar regions between the stratosphere and mesosphere and to investigate the mechanisms leading to significant disturbances of the polar wintertime mesosphere during strong baroclinic conditions in the stratosphere. The project will explore and study these baroclinic structures in detail by utilizing global temperature measurements of the stratosphere and mesosphere from satellite observations combined with extensive ground-based observations. Furthermore, empirical and numerical models will be employed to reproduce the observed phenomena and develop a more complete physical understanding of the vertical coupling, planetary wave activity, and mechanistic processes.

The ground-based measurements will include Rayleigh LIDAR measurements from Greenland and hydroxyl temperatures from interferometric measurements in Arctic and Antarctic. In addition to the atmospheric observations, the PIs will combine their observations with atmospheric community models such as the Whole-Atmosphere Climate Community Model (WACCM).

Millions of lightning flashes occur per day over the Earth, transferring tremendous power from electrical clouds to Earth's surface in the form of electric current. Lightning discharges also occur between the clouds and the edge of space, producing luminous displays called sprites and elves. These events can occur because cosmic rays from other galaxies and x-rays from the Sun make the edge of space electrically-conducting. It is not well understood how lightning might modify ionospheric conditions that affect communications and navigation (e.g., GPS) systems, or how changes in the space environment might affect electrical processes in polar-region clouds relevant to weather and climate, or how society would be impacted in other ways through electrical connections within the Earth-atmosphere-geospace system. This Broad topic is the subject of the project "Electrical Connections and Consequences Within the Earth System".

It is the purpose of this 5-year multi-institutional basic research investigation to better understand the electrical processes that link together the atmosphere, solid earth and geospace components of the Earth system. The approach is to develop improved understanding of processes controlling the charge and discharge of electrified clouds, the electrical coupling between the atmosphere and ionosphere, and the flow of current throughout the system. The project will culminate in creation of a global model that is capable of replicating much of the experimental data accumulated to date, and that Interfaces with the rest of the atmosphere-ionosphere system within the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Other key goals of this project are to educate the public about this field of study, and to motivate and educate a cadre of next-generation scientists on this global view of the Earth-atmosphere-geospace system.

A better understanding of Arctic cloud and aerosol properties, structure and formation is essential to understand the specific response of the Arctic in the context of global climate change. A lack of coherent high vertical and temporal resolution observations of cloud particles, aerosols moisture advection (i.e. water vapor) and thermodynamics, creates large uncertainties in current model estimates of cloud properties and inhibits our understanding of cloud radiative and precipitation impacts on the surface. As a result, current weather and climate models poorly parameterize clouds over the Arctic and more specifically over the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS). A reduction in this uncertainty is particularly important above the GIS, where clouds act as sinks and sources to the ice mass balance by modulating the surface radiation budget and available precipitable water. To gain the understanding necessary to reduce this uncertainty, a new autonomous multi-wavelength, polarized Raman lidar is proposed for development and deployment at the NSFʼs observatory in Summit, Greenland. The new lidar observations will employ multiple wavelengths and polarizations to observe elastic and inelastic scattering from the Arctic atmosphere enabling regular retrieval of temperature, water vapor and extinction profiles. This combination of observational capability will create a coherent dataset of high-resolution thermodynamic, cloud and aerosol observations through the Arctic troposphere and lower stratosphere above Summit. Broadly, this addition to the NSF Observatory at Summit, Greenland as part of the larger Arctic Observing Network fits well within the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) implementation plan. Thus, this instrument will significantly enhance Arctic observing infrastructure and advance observations and understanding of change in the Arctic. The proposed instrumentation and observations are the first of their kind on the GIS and will expand the existing, although modest, network of such measurements across the Arctic. This project will also provide a unique experience and educational opportunity through the combination of fieldwork and subsequent data processing for graduate students at the University of Colorado.

This effort seeks to develop a better understanding of how the high-to-mid latitude ionosphere is coupled to both the underlying middle atmosphere and to solar and geomagnetic drivers. Goals of the project are: (1) To specify solar, magnetospheric, and geomagnetic drivers during a recent period of low to moderate solar activity and to investigate how the wintertime high and mid-latitude ionosphere responds to these drivers; (2) To specify spatio-temporal variations in middle atmospheric drivers, including polar vortex disturbances and planetary waves throughout the stratosphere, mesosphere, and lower thermosphere over the life cycle of sudden stratospheric warmings; (3) To investigate how the combination of forcing from above (goal 1) and forcing from below (goal 2) controls the high to mid-latitude ionosphere during the periods of sudden stratospheric warmings.

A main objective of the project is to understand the impact of lower atmospheric forcing on the high and mid-latitude ionosphere under conditions when wave fluxes from the lower atmosphere are at the maximum, and solar and magnetospheric fluxes are at the minimum. High-amplitude stratospheric planetary waves that lead to minor and major stratospheric warmings will be investigated, and their impact on the middle and high-latitude ionosphere examined. The focus on large dynamical events with strong vertical coupling holds a promise of discovering new sources and mechanisms of quiet-time ionospheric variability. These goals will be achieved through collaborative analysis of NASA MERRA reanalysis data, MLS and TIMED SABER satellite data, incoherent scatter radars data, and WACCM-X/TIMEGCM modeling efforts.

The project will foster a partnership between MIT and the University of Colorado, and also between disciplines. Undergraduate students will participate in the research at both institutions. The MIT Haystack Observatory REU program aims to attract minority students through integration with the Puerto Rican university system.

This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project is a proof-of-concept project to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate an innovative lidar (laser illuminated detection and ranging) remote sensing technique, called the INtrapulse PHAse Modification Induced by Scattering (INPHAMIS) technique, as a commercially viable product for detailed mapping of shallow marine environments. The INPHAMIS technique is a breakthrough technology in that it provides unprecedented, centimeter resolution to map submerged objects in shallow waters, seamlessly identifies land-to-water transitions, obtains high precision water depth measurements, and provides precise description of bottom surface topography, all from remote distances above the water. Submerged objects are the number one cause of insurance claims in watercraft and the ability to detect them in advance would take care of both a human safety concern and an economic concern. Market research indicates this type of lidar system would contribute to growing markets in the mapping of lakes, shallow glacial melt-ponds, mosquito habitat, coastal erosion, and flood basins, and provide navigation information through inlets and channels that is crucial in these ever evolving environments. The end commercial goal is to develop a mobile lidar bathymetric unit to be used for local surveys either by boat, handheld, or possibly on dirigibles or unmanned aerial systems.

The INPHAMIS technique has the following unique features: 1-cm resolution in resolving objects in shallow waters, simple lidar components, noninvasive/non-contact, remote sensing technique based on a differential measurement, continuous observing over land-water transitions, and scalability to support several types of observing platforms. INPHAMIS is a disruptive technology in that it achieves high resolution subsurface mapping in water while reducing complexity and cost. Other remote sensing techniques are limited to waters deeper than a meter or more, leaving a large portion of near-shore waters unmapped. Existing lidar bathymetry systems are all quite similar in terms of intended use and capabilities and all involve large, expensive airborne systems. The INPHAMIS technique's unique features provide advantages in performance, costs, mass, power, volume, and adaptability that opens a new market in shallow-water water bathymetry by enabling the near-future development of a hand-held system for underwater mapping and subsurface target identification.

This project addresses the following technology gaps as it translates from research discovery toward commercial application: 1) interactions of laser light with different surface water conditions, submerged objects, and bottom surface types; 2) performance factors and definition of system and measurement specifications; 3) trade analysis of critical lidar components. A lab demonstrator of the technique will be advanced to evaluate laser light interactions with water bodies and objects in real environmental shallow-water conditions. This will also provide data on establishing performance factors and component testing. A faculty member, graduate student, and an undergraduate student will be involved providing a unique learning environment in entrepreneurship and technology translation, with support from industry partner, ASTRA LLC, and their staff and engineers.

The project engages industry partner, ASTRA LLC, which will contribute engineering experience and perform commercialization and marketing studies to assess market space, competitive environment, explore licensing opportunities and further commercialization of the technology. This strong partnership is poised to move this technology translation effort from research discovery toward commercial reality.

This project addresses fundamental physical processes that govern the behavior of helium throughout the thermosphere and also elucidates its role in understanding the behavior of other thermospheric constituents. The thermosphere is the domain for many low-earth-orbiting satellites and the constituent makeup, their transport properties, and their bulk motion contribute significantly to satellite drag. Helium has been a missing constituent in current thermosphere general circulation models and plays an important role in determining satellite drag effects in the upper thermosphere through its impact on the total mass density. Additionally helium is an excellent dynamical tracer creating the possibility of using helium observations to describe the poorly measured wind systems in the thermosphere. The project addresses ways of understanding complexity in the geospace system and will be carried out as a collaboration between the University of Colorado and NCAR. Two graduate students will be involved in the project.
Through this award, the implementation of a scheme to fully describe helium structure in altitude, latitude, longitude, local time, season, solar cycle and geomagnetic activity in NCAR community models will be completed. This new scheme will then be used to evaluate the processes responsible for the distribution and variation of helium. This understanding can then be projected to other gasses whose overall structure and behavior are complex but, by contrasting with helium, can be evaluated for its transport dependencies. The dynamical influences on composition also impact estimates of total mass density, where helium during solar minima can have a direct contribution. This work will lead to a better characterization of the thermosphere and can be used to improve satellite drag studies. Model output will be compared with satellite observations for evaluation.

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.