ROSES ID: NNH06ZDA001N Selection Year: 2007
Program Element: Focused Science Topic
Principal Investigator: Rod Heelis
Affiliation(s): University of Texas at Dallas
Project Member(s):
Mannucci, Anthony J Collaborator Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Huba, Joseph Collaborator Naval Research Laboratory
Summary:
We propose to utilize satellite observations, ground TEC measurements, and simple computational modeling to investigate the role of ExB drifts and neutral winds in the generation and evolution of electron density gradients at middle to low latitudes in the F region. The appearance of significant density gradients in the region produce large signal fades and loss of control tracking loops in GPS systems and thus the importance of recognizing under what conditions such degradation might appear is of great value. At middle latitudes the interaction between magnetospheric energy inputs, solar radiative inputs, and planetary rotation critically determines the dynamics of the plasma and large-scale spatial gradients in the ion density can result from vastly different dynamic histories of the plasma in neighboring regions. Thus the relevance of this investigation extends beyond the societal impacts of compromised communication and navigation systems to the more fundamental of NASA's strategic goals to understand the Sun and its effects on Earth and specifically how the near space environment responds to changes in the interplanetary medium produced by the Sun.Performance Year | Reference | Actions |
---|---|---|
1 | Hairston, M. R.; Coley, W. R.; Heelis, R. A.; Earle... | |
1 | Coley, W. R.; Heelis, R. A.; (2009), Geographic and Sea... |