Jonathan T. Fentzke

GEOScan: A GEOScience Facility From Space

GEOScan is a grassroots effort, proposed as globally networked orbiting observation facility utilizing the main Iridium NEXT 66-satellite constellation. This will create a revolutionary new capability of massively dense, global geoscience observations and targets elusive questions that scientists have not previously been able to answer, and will not answer, until simultaneous global measurements are made. This effort is enabled by Iridium as part of its Hosted Payload Program. By developing a common sensor suite the logistical and cost barriers for transmitting massive amounts of data from 66 satellites configured in 6 orbital planes with 11 evenly spaced slots per plane is removed. Each sensor suite of GEOScans networked orbital observation facility consists of 6 system sensors: a Radiometer to measure Earths total outgoing radiation; a GPS Compact Total Electron Content Sensor to image Earths plasma environment and gravity field; a MicroCam Multispectral Imager to measure global cloud cover, vegetation, land use, and bright aurora, and also take the first uniform instantaneous image of the Earth; a Radiation Belt Mapping System (dosimeters) to measure energetic electron and proton distributions; a Compact Earth Observing Spectrometer to measure aerosol-atmospheric composition and vegetation; and MEMS Accelerometers to deduce non-conservative forces aiding gravity and neutral drag studies. Our analysis shows that the instrument suites evaluated in a constellation configuration onboard the Iridium NEXT satellites are poised to provide major breakthroughs in Earth and geospace science. GEOScan commercial-of-the-shelf instruments provide low-cost space situational awareness and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance opportunities.

D region meteoric smoke and neutral temperature retrieval using the poker flat incoherent scatter radar

Summary form only given. This presentation describes the first measurement of the microphysical properties and variability of meteoric smoke particles (MSPs) at high latitude using the Poker Flat ISR (65.1N, 147.5W). In addition, we present a novel technique for determining height resolved daytime D region neutral temperatures, which takes into account the presence of charged dust. We discuss the temporal/spatial variability and the relation to meteoric input observed and MSP microphysical properties in the polar mesopause region. Further investigation and multi-site measurements in conjunction with global models and neutral wind measurements are required to assess the relative contribution from transport versus local production. This work provides a template for potential use at many other radar sites for the determination of microphysical properties of MSPs and day-time neutral temperature in the D region that show good general agreement with other temperature data during the observing period.