Neutral winds from mesosphere to thermosphere—past, present, and future outlook

The Earth’s upper atmosphere (85–550 km) is the nearest region of geospace and is highly dynamic in nature. Neutral winds impact a large portion of the dynamics in this region. They play a critical role in determining the state of the ionosphere-thermosphere system at almost all latitudes and altitu...

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Main Authors: Manbharat Dhadly, Fabrizio Sassi, John Emmert, Douglas Drob, Mark Conde, Qian Wu, Jonathan Makela, Scott Budzien, Andy Nicholas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2022.1050586/full
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author Manbharat Dhadly
Fabrizio Sassi
John Emmert
Douglas Drob
Mark Conde
Qian Wu
Jonathan Makela
Scott Budzien
Andy Nicholas
author_facet Manbharat Dhadly
Fabrizio Sassi
John Emmert
Douglas Drob
Mark Conde
Qian Wu
Jonathan Makela
Scott Budzien
Andy Nicholas
author_sort Manbharat Dhadly
collection DOAJ
description The Earth’s upper atmosphere (85–550 km) is the nearest region of geospace and is highly dynamic in nature. Neutral winds impact a large portion of the dynamics in this region. They play a critical role in determining the state of the ionosphere-thermosphere system at almost all latitudes and altitudes. Their influences range from wave breaking/dissipation in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere to global redistribution of energy and momentum deposited at high latitudes by the magnetosphere. Despite their known importance, global geospace neutral winds have remained one of the least sampled state parameters of the Earth’s upper atmosphere and are still poorly characterized even after multiple decades of observations. This paper presents an overview of historical neutral wind measurements and the critical need for their global height-resolved measurements. Some satellite missions are still operational and deliver valuable information on the contribution of neutral winds in global atmospheric dynamics. However, many significant gaps remain in their global monitoring, and our current understanding of the drivers of neutral winds is incomplete. We discuss the challenges posed by these measurement gaps in understanding geospace physics and weather. Further, we propose some wind observation solutions, including the simultaneous operations of upcoming NASA DYNAMIC and GDC missions as well as support for the development of ground-based observing methodologies, that will lead to fundamental advances in geospace science and address humanity’s emerging space needs.
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spelling doaj.art-33c2c0997a1e4189856eb557ac4759372023-01-12T04:28:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences2296-987X2023-01-01910.3389/fspas.2022.10505861050586Neutral winds from mesosphere to thermosphere—past, present, and future outlookManbharat Dhadly0Fabrizio Sassi1John Emmert2Douglas Drob3Mark Conde4Qian Wu5Jonathan Makela6Scott Budzien7Andy Nicholas8Space Science Division, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, United StatesSpace Science Division, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, United StatesSpace Science Division, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, United StatesSpace Science Division, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, United StatesGeophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United StatesHigh Altitude Observatory, UCAR, Boulder, CO, United StatesDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United StatesSpace Science Division, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, United StatesSpace Science Division, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, United StatesThe Earth’s upper atmosphere (85–550 km) is the nearest region of geospace and is highly dynamic in nature. Neutral winds impact a large portion of the dynamics in this region. They play a critical role in determining the state of the ionosphere-thermosphere system at almost all latitudes and altitudes. Their influences range from wave breaking/dissipation in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere to global redistribution of energy and momentum deposited at high latitudes by the magnetosphere. Despite their known importance, global geospace neutral winds have remained one of the least sampled state parameters of the Earth’s upper atmosphere and are still poorly characterized even after multiple decades of observations. This paper presents an overview of historical neutral wind measurements and the critical need for their global height-resolved measurements. Some satellite missions are still operational and deliver valuable information on the contribution of neutral winds in global atmospheric dynamics. However, many significant gaps remain in their global monitoring, and our current understanding of the drivers of neutral winds is incomplete. We discuss the challenges posed by these measurement gaps in understanding geospace physics and weather. Further, we propose some wind observation solutions, including the simultaneous operations of upcoming NASA DYNAMIC and GDC missions as well as support for the development of ground-based observing methodologies, that will lead to fundamental advances in geospace science and address humanity’s emerging space needs.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2022.1050586/fullneutral windupper atmosphere dynamicsthermosphereionosphereignorospheregeospace
spellingShingle Manbharat Dhadly
Fabrizio Sassi
John Emmert
Douglas Drob
Mark Conde
Qian Wu
Jonathan Makela
Scott Budzien
Andy Nicholas
Neutral winds from mesosphere to thermosphere—past, present, and future outlook
Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
neutral wind
upper atmosphere dynamics
thermosphere
ionosphere
ignorosphere
geospace
title Neutral winds from mesosphere to thermosphere—past, present, and future outlook
title_full Neutral winds from mesosphere to thermosphere—past, present, and future outlook
title_fullStr Neutral winds from mesosphere to thermosphere—past, present, and future outlook
title_full_unstemmed Neutral winds from mesosphere to thermosphere—past, present, and future outlook
title_short Neutral winds from mesosphere to thermosphere—past, present, and future outlook
title_sort neutral winds from mesosphere to thermosphere past present and future outlook
topic neutral wind
upper atmosphere dynamics
thermosphere
ionosphere
ignorosphere
geospace
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2022.1050586/full
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