DATA ASSIMILATION FOR THE STUDY OF MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE-ATMOSPHERE COUPLING
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bath
Department Name: Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Abstract
State-of-the-art ionospheric imaging techniques use Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite data. In a similar manner to medical imaging, where the patient is examined by X-rays, in ionospheric imaging the upper atmosphere (ionosphere) is examined by radio waves. The next big step for ionospheric imaging is to combine it with models of the ionosphere. The reason to do this is to discover the underlying physics, which we cannot do very well by just looking at the images. We need to link the images to models of winds, solar radiation and electric fields in order to understand what causes the upper atmospheric environment to behave as it does during extreme events called storms. These are not the weather storms we are familiar with but rather these space-weather storms are caused by the bombardment of the outer realms of the atmosphere with particles and radiation from the Sun. The mathematics we need to link the measurements to the models is called data assimilation. Data assimilation has already been strikingly successful in meteorology. The data assimilation to be developed under this grant is for much higher up in the atmosphere (above 100 km) and will be used to investigate the coupling between the neutral and ionized atmosphere and to determine the relationships between ionosphere-atmosphere dynamics and magnetosphere dynamics.
Publications
Pokhotelov D
(2010)
GPS tomography in the polar cap: comparison with ionosondes and in situ spacecraft data
in GPS Solutions
Benton C
(2013)
Further observations of GPS satellite oscillator anomalies mimicking ionospheric phase scintillation
in GPS Solutions
Allain D
(2008)
Ionospheric delay corrections for single-frequency GPS receivers over Europe using tomographic mapping
in GPS Solutions
Yin P
(2006)
Observations of the F region height redistribution in the storm-time ionosphere over Europe and the USA using GPS imaging
in Geophysical Research Letters
Muella M
(2011)
Tomographic imaging of the equatorial and low-latitude ionosphere over central-eastern Brazil
in Earth, Planets and Space
Qiu W
(2010)
New iterative cone beam CT reconstruction software: parameter optimisation and convergence study.
in Computer methods and programs in biomedicine
Soleimani M
(2009)
Medical imaging and physiological modelling: linking physics and biology.
in Biomedical engineering online
Vincenzo Romano
(2013)
Measuring GNSS ionospheric total electron content at Concordia, and application to L-band radiometers
in Annals of Geophysics
Paul Prikryl
(2013)
An interhemispheric comparison of GPS phase scintillation with auroral emission observed at the South Pole and from the DMSP satellite
in Annals of Geophysics
Luca Spogli
(2013)
GPS scintillations and total electron content climatology in the southern low, middle and high latitude regions
in Annals of Geophysics