Merging of Observations and Models for the Earth's Schumann Resonances

地球舒曼共振观测与模型的合并

• 批准号: 0842751
• 负责人: Earle Williams
• 金额: $ 47.8万
• 依托单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-08-01 至 2013-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0842751&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Merging; Observations; Models; Earth; Schumann

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Quantitative measurements of the global electric circuit, in which lightning plays a key role, are important both in terms of basic description of the earth-atmosphere system and as a proxy measure for changes in global climate. One key means through which global electrical activity may be measured is through so-called Schumann Resonances (SR), which are extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves channeled over long (~hemispheric-scale) distances through a natural "waveguide" constituted by the earth's surface and the ionosphere. Work supported under this project will both maintain a key ELF signal detection station (located in Rhode Island) and allow access to and comprehensive analysis of calibrated digital observations from a worldwide ELF network over extended time periods. This analysis will take advantage of specialized shorter-duration observations of intense convective systems over Africa, as obtained during the AMMA (the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses) project, as well as benefitting from recent improved knowledge of the asymmetry in SR propagation associated with day-night differences in ionospheric behavior. While prior analyses resting on single-station ELF data have been fruitful, the integration of data from multiple stations around the globe in this study promises to surpass previous results.The intellectual merit of this research rests in our improved ability to both monitor and understand the structure of the lower ionosphere and its modulation by lightning, and by extension determination of upper-atmospheric influences rooted in the meteorology of the troposphere. This effort will have broader impacts through the education of undergraduate students, who will be directly involved in maintenance of the Rhode Island ELF receiver as well as analysis of data so-collected. These data will be shared with international collaborators maintaining other ELF stations in the global network to facilitate cross-checking of accuracy and more comprehensive analyses than would otherwise be possible. This work will also provide means for a highly integrated, independent measure of global trends in the amount/intensity of atmospheric convective (e.g. thunderstorm) activity within the evolving climate system.

该奖项根据 2009 年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法 111-5）提供资金。全球电路的定量测量（其中闪电发挥着关键作用）对于地球大气的基本描述而言非常重要系统并作为全球气候变化的代理衡量标准。 测量全球电活动的一个关键方法是通过所谓的舒曼共振（SR），它是一种极低频（ELF）电磁波，通过由以下物质构成的天然“波导”长距离（半球尺度）传播：地球表面和电离层。 该项目支持的工作将维护一个关键的 ELF 信号检测站（位于罗德岛州），并允许在较长时间内访问和综合分析来自全球 ELF 网络的校准数字观测结果。 该分析将利用在 AMMA（非洲季风多学科分析）项目期间获得的对非洲强对流系统的专门短期观测，以及受益于最近对与白天相关的 SR 传播不对称性的了解。电离层行为的夜间差异。 虽然之前基于单站 ELF 数据的分析取得了丰硕成果，但本研究中对全球多个站数据的整合有望超越以前的结果。这项研究的智力价值在于我们提高了监测和理解 ELF 数据的能力。低层电离层的结构及其闪电调制，并通过扩展确定植根于对流层气象学的高层大气影响。 这项工作将通过本科生的教育产生更广泛的影响，他们将直接参与罗德岛 ELF 接收器的维护以及对所收集数据的分析。 这些数据将与维护全球网络中其他 ELF 站的国际合作者共享，以促进准确性的交叉检查和比其他方式更全面的分析。 这项工作还将提供一种高度综合、独立的方法来测量不断变化的气候系统中大气对流（例如雷暴）活动的数量/强度的全球趋势。