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Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
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SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS: A SCIENCE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
gitudinal sector. The network nodes should be populated with heterogeneous instrumentation capable of
measurements, including winds, temperatures, emissions, scintillations, and plasma parameters, for study
of a variety of local and regional ionosphere-thermosphere phenomena over extended latitudinal ranges.
• Whole-atmosphere lidar observatory. Create and operate a lidar observatory capable of measuring
gravity waves, tides, wave-wave and wave-mean flow interactions, and wave dissipation and vertical coupling processes from the stratosphere to 200 km. Collocation with a research facility such as an incoherent
scatter radar (ISR) installation would enable study of a number of local-scale plasma-neutral interactions
relevant to space weather.
• NSF medium-scale research facility program. The above two facilities are candidates for support by
the NSF Geospace Program and would require that a medium-scale (~$40 million to $50 million) research
facility funding program be instituted at NSF to fill the gap between the Major Research Instrumentation
(MRI; <$4 million) and Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC; >$100 million)
programs.
• Southern-Hemisphere expansion of incoherent scatter radar (ISR) network. In addition to the two
facilities listed above, expansion of the now proven Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR)
technology to southern polar latitudes (i.e., Antarctica) would provide for the first-ever view of detailed
ionosphere processes in the southern polar hemisphere, thus contributing a critical missing component to
the Heliophysics Systems Observatory.
• Ionospheric modification facilities. Fully realize the potential of ionospheric modification techniques
through colocation of modern heating facilities with a full complement of diagnostic instruments including
incoherent scatter radars. This effort requires coordination between NSF and DOD agencies in the planning
and operation of existing and future ionospheric modification facilities.
8.1.4 Theory and Modeling
Cross-scale coupling processes are intrinsic to AIM system behavior. Phenomena and processes that
are highly structured in space and time (e.g., wave dissipation, turbulence, electric field fluctuations) can
produce effects (e.g., wind circulations, chemical transport, Joule heating, respectively) over much larger
scales. At the same time, larger-scale phenomena create local conditions that can either promote or suppress
development of rapidly changing structures at small spatial scales (e.g., instabilities and turbulence). The
observational strategies presented in this report place high priority on understanding how local, regional,
and global-scale phenomena couple to produce observed responses across scales. These strategies call for
complementary development of theory and numerical modeling capabilities that enable comprehensive
treatment of cross-scale coupling processes, together with new data synthesis technologies that combine
multiple, hetero-scale data sources into a common framework for understanding critical aspects of the
AIM system.
Therefore, to support the synergistic program of space-based investigations and ground-based facilities,
the AIMI panel has the following priorities regarding theory and modeling:
• Model development. Comprehensive models of the AIM system would benefit from the development
of embedded grid and/or nested model capabilities, which could be used to understand the interactions
between local- and regional-scale phenomena within the context of global AIM system evolution.
• Theory. Complementary theoretical work would enhance understanding of the physics of variousscale structures and the self-consistent interactions between them.
• Assimilative capabilities. Comprehensive models of the AIM system would benefit from developing
assimilative capabilities and would serve as the first genre of space weather prediction models.
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
152
SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS: A SCIENCE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
gitudinal sector. The network nodes should be populated with heterogeneous instrumentation capable of
measurements, including winds, temperatures, emissions, scintillations, and plasma parameters, for study
of a variety of local and regional ionosphere-thermosphere phenomena over extended latitudinal ranges.
• Whole-atmosphere lidar observatory. Create and operate a lidar observatory capable of measuring
gravity waves, tides, wave-wave and wave-mean flow interactions, and wave dissipation and vertical coupling processes from the stratosphere to 200 km. Collocation with a research facility such as an incoherent
scatter radar (ISR) installation would enable study of a number of local-scale plasma-neutral interactions
relevant to space weather.
• NSF medium-scale research facility program. The above two facilities are candidates for support by
the NSF Geospace Program and would require that a medium-scale (~$40 million to $50 million) research
facility funding program be instituted at NSF to fill the gap between the Major Research Instrumentation
(MRI; <$4 million) and Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC; >$100 million)
programs.
• Southern-Hemisphere expansion of incoherent scatter radar (ISR) network. In addition to the two
facilities listed above, expansion of the now proven Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR)
technology to southern polar latitudes (i.e., Antarctica) would provide for the first-ever view of detailed
ionosphere processes in the southern polar hemisphere, thus contributing a critical missing component to
the Heliophysics Systems Observatory.
• Ionospheric modification facilities. Fully realize the potential of ionospheric modification techniques
through colocation of modern heating facilities with a full complement of diagnostic instruments including
incoherent scatter radars. This effort requires coordination between NSF and DOD agencies in the planning
and operation of existing and future ionospheric modification facilities.
8.1.4 Theory and Modeling
Cross-scale coupling processes are intrinsic to AIM system behavior. Phenomena and processes that
are highly structured in space and time (e.g., wave dissipation, turbulence, electric field fluctuations) can
produce effects (e.g., wind circulations, chemical transport, Joule heating, respectively) over much larger
scales. At the same time, larger-scale phenomena create local conditions that can either promote or suppress
development of rapidly changing structures at small spatial scales (e.g., instabilities and turbulence). The
observational strategies presented in this report place high priority on understanding how local, regional,
and global-scale phenomena couple to produce observed responses across scales. These strategies call for
complementary development of theory and numerical modeling capabilities that enable comprehensive
treatment of cross-scale coupling processes, together with new data synthesis technologies that combine
multiple, hetero-scale data sources into a common framework for understanding critical aspects of the
AIM system.
Therefore, to support the synergistic program of space-based investigations and ground-based facilities,
the AIMI panel has the following priorities regarding theory and modeling:
• Model development. Comprehensive models of the AIM system would benefit from the development
of embedded grid and/or nested model capabilities, which could be used to understand the interactions
between local- and regional-scale phenomena within the context of global AIM system evolution.
• Theory. Complementary theoretical work would enhance understanding of the physics of variousscale structures and the self-consistent interactions between them.
• Assimilative capabilities. Comprehensive models of the AIM system would benefit from developing
assimilative capabilities and would serve as the first genre of space weather prediction models.