Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Interactions within the solar-terrestrial (ST) system drive the energetics and dynamics of the Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere. Mass and energy exchange by electrodynamic processes constantly occurs throughout the ST system, powered and modulated by solar photons, the solar wind, and its embedded interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Variability of the plasma content, electrodynamics, and plasma structuring within the ST system is commonly called "space weather". Space weather and associated ionospheric variability have severe consequences for our modern-day technology and infrastructure, interfere with ground and satellite-based radio communication links and Over-The-Horizon-Radar (OTHR) systems through processes such as signal fading and absorption, and produce positioning errors and outages in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). These impacts are high-priority safety, security, and economic concerns for essential operations such as circumpolar aviation, military activities, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) applications, particularly in Canada where space weather effects are severe due to our proximity to the northern magnetic pole. My research program at the Radio and Space Physics Laboratory (RSPL) at UNB is devoted to the development and deployment of radio frequency (RF) instrumentation for monitoring the ST system, understanding the physical processes within the ST system that drive space weather and associated ionospheric variability, and development of models for space weather applications. We currently operate the Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Network (CHAIN), a 34-station network for ionospheric monitoring, and are in the process of deploying the Space Weather Ionospheric Network Canada (SWINCan), a significant 147-station, pan-Canadian expansion of our RF monitoring capabilities. We have also developed new, state-of-the-art RF instruments for ionospheric monitoring, which will be deployed as part of this expansion. In addition, we have developed operational models such as the Empirical Canadian High Artic Ionospheric Model (E-CHAIM) and the Assimilative Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Model (A-CHAIM), and have made several important scientific discoveries that have contributed to paradigm changes in the field of ionospheric scintillation. The broad scientific objectives of my research are to: �Understand the energetics and electrodynamics of the high-latitude ionosphere. �Understand the generation and dynamics of multi-scale ionospheric plasma structures. The broad technical objectives and expected impact of my research program are to: �Develop state-of-the-art RF sensors for ionospheric monitoring. �Develop cutting-edge models for space weather nowcasting. �Model and mitigate ionospheric impacts on GNSS and RF communication systems. �Improve ionosphere specification for OTHR systems.