Research Objectives:
Continued progress in understanding the Sun's influence on the structure and dynamics of the Earth's upper atmosphere depends on increasing knowledge of the electrodynamics of the polar cap region and the key role this region plays in coupling the solar wind with the Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere. Measurements that are central to understanding include the electric field convection pattern across the polar cap and knowledge of the response of the atmosphere to the many forms of high-latitude wave and particle energy inputs during both geomagnetically quiet and disturbed situations.
The U.S. automatic geophysical observatory (AGO) network, which consists of a suite of nearly identical instruments (optical and radio wave auroral imagers, magnetometers, and narrow- and wide-band radio receivers) at locations on the polar plateau, actively studies the coupling of the solar wind to ionospheric and magnetospheric processes, emphasizing polar cap dynamics, substorm phenomena, and space weather. Among these projects are
+ An investigation that uses extreme-low -frequency and very-low-frequency waves as an observing tools to understand the electrodynamic coupling between upper-atmospheric regions and the interaction of the magnetosphere and ionosphere
+ An investigation that employs autonomous, compact, and low-power atmospheric lidar instruments to detect polar stratospheric clouds and profile the overlying atmosphere
+ An investigation that uses magnetometers at conjugate sites in Antarcitca and the Northern Hemisphere to measure variations in hydromagnetic waves with the optical emissions caused by charged particles that precipitate from the trapped radiation of the Earth into the upper atmosphere
When combined with measurements made at certain staffed stations, AGO network data facilitate both large- and small-scale studies of the energetics and dynamics of the high-latitude magnetosphere. The research will be carried out with in situ observations of the geospace environment by spacecraft, in close cooperation with other nations working in Antarctica and in conjunction with studies performed in the Northern Hemisphere.
