The Subauroral Geophysical Observatory for Space Physics and Radio Science will be housed at the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program site in Gakona, Alaska.
The facility’s 33-acre Ionospheric Research Instrument will be the centerpiece of the new observatory.
A second NSF-funded project will add a lidar at the site, which will allow the study of other regions of the upper atmosphere. A lidar sends pulses of laser light to determine the composition, temperature and structure of regions of the upper atmosphere from 90 to 150 kilometers.
No new construction is expected under the NSF funding to create the observatory, which will be a station at which researchers can monitor and receive data from instruments. The university hopes to add additional instruments over time at the $290 million Gakona research site.
The five-year NSF grant will allow scientists to investigate how the sun affects Earth’s ionosphere and magnetosphere to produce changes in space weather. Their work will help fill gaps in knowledge about the region, which is important because ionospheric disturbances can disrupt communications systems and cause damage and outages to power grids....<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>....