Joule heating effects on ionosphere-thermosphere coupling and neutral density (JOIN)

Understanding the detailed spatial and temporal dynamics of the space environment is a fundamental requisite for providing successful space weather forecasts, such as predicting changes in atmospheric drag experienced by satellites at low-Earth obits (LEO). In this project we will carry out a detailed investigation of the auroral Joule heating and its consequences on the ionosphere-thermosphere (IT) system at high latitudes. Our main objectives are to:

• Determine the global statistical distribution and variability of the high-latitude Joule heating during geomagnetic storms driven by solar wind high speed streams (HSS) or interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICME).
• Correlate the storm-time Joule heating with observed large-scale atmospheric density variations at low Earth orbits (LEO).
• Estimate variations in the atmospheric scale height by directly comparing density measurements from two different altitudes during co-planarity periods between various LEO satellites at polar orbits.
• Perform event studies of meso-scale Joule heating and density variations at auroral regions by utilizing conjunctions between Swarm satellites and incoherent scatter radars (e.g., EISCAT, EISCAT3D and Poker flat).