Xian Lu
Clemson University, SC·Physics
The upper atmosphere, where auroras glow and satellites orbit, is constantly stirred from two directions. From above, the Sun drives geomagnetic storms.
- Fields
Physics
Earth & Environmental Science
Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Topics
space weather
aurora
airglow
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Sep 2027
What they work on
- Determine the role of Alfvén waves in producing auroral arcs, compared with steady particle precipitation, using midnight short-wave infrared all-sky imaging combined with photometers, imagers and the PFISR radar at Poker Flat.
- Measure how exospheric density varies over minutes to days using metastable helium 1083 nm airglow as a tracer, and compare the results with the TIEGCM model.
- Quantify the day-to-day ionosphere-thermosphere variability caused by lower-atmosphere waves and persistent geomagnetic disturbances, and how their contributions differ by location, using ground and satellite data.
- Compare how the ionosphere-thermosphere responds to intense space weather versus severe convective weather, and test the preconditioning effects of atmospheric waves, using a coupled general circulation and regional wave model with data assimilation.
More about the research
From below, waves rise from weather in the lower atmosphere, including thunderstorms and tornadoes. These changes, called space weather, can disrupt power grids, telecommunications and spacecraft. They also change the atmospheric drag that slows satellites. The research combines optical observations, radar data and computer models to understand these processes in the ionosphere and thermosphere, the electrically charged and upper neutral layers of the atmosphere.
Why it matters
Better understanding of what drives upper-atmosphere change could improve space weather forecasting. That would help protect power grids, communications, spacecraft operations and astronaut health. Measuring how exospheric density responds to solar and geomagnetic activity could also improve drag calculations for satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Collaborative Research: CEDAR--Short Wave Infrared Imaging of the Meinel 0-0 Auroral and the Metastable Helium 1083 nm Airglow Emissions for Auroral Physics and Aeronomy Studies
NSF · Oct 2024 – Sep 2027
Collaborative Research: ANSWERS: Impacts of Atmospheric Waves and Geomagnetic Disturbances on Quiet-time and Storm-time Space Weather
NSF · May 2022 – Apr 2027
Closest labs
Tomoko Matsuo
University of Colorado Boulder, CO·Earth & Environmental Science
Identify the causes of day-to-day and longitude-to-longitude changes in the equatorial electrojet, a strong current near the magnetic equator, by assimilating ground and Swarm satellite magnetic data into the TIEGCM upper-atmosphere model.
Edwin Mierkiewicz
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach, FL·Earth & Environmental Science
Measure hydrogen Balmer-alpha and Balmer-beta glow from ground observatories across the Americas, using Fabry–Perot interferometers and photometers, to fill nightside gaps left by NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory.
Shinichi Ohtani
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Earth & Environmental Science
Identify the internal and external conditions under which the dawnside wedge current system appears during geomagnetic storms, using SuperMAG-selected events and probability distributions of solar wind and magnetospheric parameters.
The school
Clemson University: 19 labs on PI Pages, $339M a year on research, 297 research doctorates a year.
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